Tales of Neopolitan
by Random O' Panda
Summary: Neo finds herself sent to the world of Sylvarant and becomes involved in the Journey of Regeneration. How will the presence of a mute, slightly psychopathic woman affect the course of history? Cover image commissioned for this work. (Adoptable)
1. Chapter 1- The Paths Cross (revised)

Howdy everybody! I am Random O' Panda.

All constructive criticism is welcome. I may be a book man but my grammar often needs help. This is my first published fanfic so honest words are best. Many thanks to you for reading.

Brackets [] indicate words that have been written out on paper, generally by Neo.  
 _Full sentences in italics represent flashback or thought, as context-appropriate_

RWBY and its characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Tales of Symphonia and its characters are owned by Namco Bandai.

Please support the official series.

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Tales of Neopolitan. Chapter 1- The Paths Cross

\- Neo -

The rhythmic footsteps of boots rang throughout the factory's hallway.

Tap, tap, tap, tap…

Neo couldn't help but feel relaxed as she walked towards her destination, the very center of the building. And why should she be worried? The security so far had been impossibly lax. She understood that the target wasn't exactly rich but such outdated humanoid drones (Atlesian Knight-130s, to be exact) would fail to protect him from even an academy student. Still, this was the job she was given to do by Roman. She remembered his words to a T:

 _"Neo, I hate to bug you with something so small but I'm a little… tied up at the moment," he said while looking over a map of Vale. "Cinder's spy network recently discovered a scientist who is researching, in her words, 'an interesting portal discovery'. Apparently the guy has made some machine that sends people, in theory, to another world."_

 _He paused to light a cigar. His smoking habit has gotten worse since Cinder broke him out of jail following the 'Breach' incident. Probably stress._

 _"I say 'in theory' because nobody he's sent through has come back. His funding from Vacuo got cut and he moved to our little Kingdom of Vale to continue in secret. Could you be a dear and bring him here alive? We're interested in making use of his work."_

She wondered for a moment why he didn't send some White Fang lackeys to do this. There would undoubtedly be machinery to be moved, though she supposed that could all be picked up at a later date.

Reaching the core of the warehouse, a massive hangar door stood in her way. A numbered keypad on the right of the door glowed with a faint red light. She reached for the keypad while mentally reciting the six-digit code she had been told would get her inside.

But remembering the code was as far as she got, because the door began to open on its own. She braced herself for a fight.

And then…

Nothing came out of the door. It occurred to her after a moment that it could be an invitation; or, far more likely, a trap. Peering inside, a man sat in a chair in the middle of the room facing the right wall. There, a tall machine (well, tall compared to her, as it was only around ten feet tall) stood with an empty 'O' in the center.

"Are you here to take me to my new prison," asked the man, "or is this the part where I'm considered a threat to everyone and removed?"

Her target, Griza Entrada, was a 45-year-old man. His black hair, long and wiry, was pulled into a ponytail. Pale skin, hollow face… Clearly he hadn't seen the sun, or even slept, in days. Neo gestured over her shoulder with her thumb; it was time to go.

He smiled sadly. "I see. Just let me do one final thing."

Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out a stubby, thick device. He pointed it at the machine and pressed two buttons. A moment passed before the machine began to hum with power. It was loud, but not grating. Neo was confused. What exactly was he doing…?

"You know… I haven't had the guts. To go through the portal myself, I mean. A dozen other men sent but never me. Just what is this new world like…"

At that moment Griza started to sprint towards the machine. An escape, huh? Not likely. Neo smiled her trademark slasher grin and jumped with all the power she could put into her legs to cut him off, primed to land in front of him and knock him unconscious. But as she neared the landing point, Griza came to a full stop and pointed his machine's controller…

…right where she was going to land.

Fwoom!

The ground opened up with a blue light, threatening to swallow her whole. She focused her Aura on her Semblance; she had to avoid landing, she had to-

Too late.

She was falling. There were no walls to grasp and no color around her so all she could do was stare at the waning light from above.

She couldn't believe it. The old man had outsmarted her, one of the greatest assassins on the whole planet! All because she had made a rookie mistake. She hadn't been beaten since she fought that stupid blond with the short shorts on the train, and even then she had been forced to flee once that freak with the mask had showed up as she was about to deliver the killing blow.

Did she scream as she fell thousands of feet into the inky abyss? Hardly. She could get angry, she could even cry if push came to shove. But no words could leave her lips. It's not that Neo didn't want to speak.

She's just…

…forgotten how.

-Lloyd/Genis-

"Genis, how much further until we get to Triet? This heat is starting to get to me."

"It should be just a couple more hours, but it's only going to get hotter as we get further into the desert, Lloyd."

Lloyd groaned. Yes, he wanted to catch up to Colette and help her out, but… couldn't they have started the journey in another area? One that wasn't so hot?

They were hiking to Triet because it was the only major area on the continent and, therefore, the best place to discover clues for Colette's destination. Noishe was the original mode of transportation, but he had gotten difficult to work with as the trek got hotter.

However, the party was brought to a stop when they saw a blue light in the shape of an 'O' appear in the air some fifty yards in front of them, surrounding what appeared to be a black void.

Genis and Lloyd exchanged glances before looking at back at the strange sight. It was then that they saw the figure of a person drop from the light, followed by the blue hole disappearing. What was that!?

As they approached the scene, the person who fell stood up and began to brush the sand off of their clothes. It was a girl, wearing a white jacket with a pink inside cropped halfway down the front, a black corset, and grey boots that approached the kneecap of her pants. Her hair was half-pink and half-brown, with white streaks down the pink half. She couldn't have been more than a couple inches taller than Genis! But perhaps most striking were her eyes- right eye brown and left eye pink, the opposite of her hair. Lloyd caught himself staring as the girl regarded them warily.

She studied them back and blinked. Upon doing so, her eyes both became brown. How was she doing that? Finally, after several moments of awkward pause, she reached into her jacket and brought out a pen and small stack of paper.

Scribble, scribble.

She flashed the card at them.

[Where am I?] She couldn't talk? Maybe her throat was too dry.

"You're not too far from the city of Triet," responded Genis. "Are you…okay, after that fall?"

She nodded. She seemed unhappy but unhurt, at least. Lloyd chimed in.

"Where did you come from? What was that light?"

Scribble.

[It's a long story. What is "Triet"?] She was definitely lost, thought Lloyd. The wind chose this time to pick up and send tens of billions of tiny sand grains into the air, causing the trio to shield their eyes from the offending particles.

"Look!" Shouted Lloyd over the gust. "We need to get going. There's no point in staying here, talking in the desert with no shelter. How about you come with us and we'll figure things out when we get to town?"

The mystery girl whipped out a pink parasol, opened it, and made a sweeping gesture with her other hand and smiled. 'Lead the way', it suggested. The group of 3, plus Noishe, began to hurry in the direction of the oasis. But all the while Genis couldn't help but thinkthat the stranger's smile had seemed almost… condescending.

-Neo-

Despite her initial anger, she had to hand it to that scientist; that was a clever move he had pulled. Griza managed to send her over to (what she could only assume to be) the so-called 'new world'. Still, she couldn't have asked for more than these two showing up to act as guides (The fact that one of them was actually shorter than her was a massive bonus). One does what one must, and she would make use of them until she finds a way to return.

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My gratitude to Recycler for revising this chapter! And thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2- Negotiations

Welcome to the second installment of my little project! Thank you for coming back and i hope you enjoy the read.

 _Sentences in all italics indicate thought._

[Brackets] indicate words written down, generally by Neo.

RWBY and its characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Tales of Symphonia and its characters are owned by Namco Bandai.

Chapter 2- Negotiations.

-Neo-

The 'city of Triet' they mentioned could hardly even be called a village. Certainly the cover the buildings provided was better than the open desert, but 20 buildings as a mix of homes, shops, and 1 inn does not a city make. How does this place function?

Setting down at the inn, the 3 wary travelers purchased a set of water gourds and relaxed around a small table. After a moment, the boy in red started the conversation.

"So what's your name? Where are you from?"

Neo contemplated her answer. How much should she tell them? Red only seemed to be a couple years younger than her; he could be very intelligent or dangerous. Blue was clearly a child so there was no threat there.

Scribble, scribble.

[My name is Neo. I am from a kingdom named Vale. What country am I in?]

Blue answered. "Nice to meet you, my name is Genis Sage. I don't know of any place named Vale."

It was just as she feared. She was stuck in another world with no one she knew. Roman said none of the people sent through had managed to come back. How in the world was she supposed to get back? The way she came?

Yes, that was it! Roman or Cinder would eventually capture the scientist, and when they do the technology can be used to bring her back.

"And my name," followed Red, "is Lloyd. Since you obviously aren't from around here, what are you planning to do?"

…Good question. What _was_ she going to do? Waiting for them to find her could take weeks or even months. She needed to survive in the meantime. She also can't sit around and do nothing because, quite frankly, she would die of boredom.

 _Maybe I should toss a little bait out._

Scribble, scribble.

[What are you two doing in the desert? You aren't dressed like the locals.]

"We're looking for our friend Colette and the 2 she's traveling with. You see, she's on a journey to save the world because she's the Chosen…" Lloyd stopped for a moment. "Do you know what a Chosen is?"

Neo shook her head.

 _Sounds pretentious to me._

"Haha well the short version is that she was picked by her bloodline to open the seals around the world, become an angel, and bring life to the world. The group had to have come here to at least find out where the region's seal could be, so we're looking for clues to find *them*."

Neo couldn't help but smile. A trip that spans the whole world, possibly meeting all manner of influential people? She can gather information for Cinder and stave off her boredom in one stroke.

[What do you think about me joining you? I can be a bodyguard while you look for your friends.]

Lloyd and Genis brought their heads together and whispered for a moment. She doesn't have super hearing but their expressions say enough; Lloyd approves, Genis is apprehensive. Perhaps she didn't give the child's intelligence enough credit. They separate after a few seconds and Genis speaks.

"We'll be glad to travel with you until we meet up with Colette and my sister. But no guarantees for them letting you stay with us afterwards."

It's a start. Neo nods and reached to shake hands. Lloyd returned the shake with a smile. "Pleasure to have you aboard."

After another moment's rest, they set out to scour the town and found the first clue almost immediately… in the form of a giant hole. As they approached a house they noticed a man standing outside bragging to everyone in earshot.

Lloyd asked, "What happened here?" "OH, let me tell you young man! The chosen herself was visiting our town and when she approached my house she fell through the wall! This hole is shaped **exactly** like her! I plan on making this a tourist attraction for the town."

Neo couldn't help but reel backwards. Was this man serious? Seeing her reaction, Genis leaned over and said, "The odd thing about this? It's almost guaranteed to be true. This isn't the first time she's done something like this."

 _My. God. Who have I gotten myself wrapped up with?_

-Genis-

After the rather embarrassing wall-crash they found themselves headed towards the fortune-teller's tent on the other side of the oasis. Entering the tent a single woman welcomed them warmly.

"Hello there. How may I be of service?"

"Yes, we'd like to known where Colette… where the chosen's group is right now."

"Understood."

...There was an awkward pause.

"That'll be 100 gald." That's pricey! Lloyd begrudingly reached into his pocket and pulled out 100 gald and placed it on the table.

"Mmm…I can see her! The Chosen is heading for the oasis that is said to have been destroyed when Efreet went out of control." Genis was skeptical.

"Is that true?"

"The chosen's companion said so, so there is no doubt."

…What. Did we just get tricked?

The 3 were left shaking their heads from the fortune-teller. But as they walked back into town, Genis couldn't help but notice a piece of paper attached to a board. "Lloyd, is that a wanted poster of you?"

"What?" He examined it. "…Am I this ugly?"

It truly was a terrible picture. Almost like it was done by a child. Neo stood to the side shaking with silent laughter. That reminded Genis; she didn't seem to know about the Desians; they'll have to a lot explain things to her. Where is this 'Vale' place she's from, anyway?

"Well the good thing about this, Lloyd, is that they'll never find you with this…I think."

"Oh well. Let's just get going to the ruins, you two, before any desians spot us."

But they only got to take a few steps towards the town border when they heard somebody shout, "Wait! Doesn't that guy look like the one on the wanted posters?"

Spinning around they notice 4 desians examining the wanted poster.

"Yeah, he looks just like it! Heheh… I guess you can't run away with a poster of your face everywhere!"

Lloyd shook his head. "This is getting ridiculous." Neo brought out her parasol and opened it while Genis himself started to cast Lightning. The 2 desians with whips dashed forward while the 2 crossbowmen fired their shots directly at Neo, only for her to deflect both bolts with _only the canopy part of her parasol._ **How** _ **?**_

The whip wielders paused at the bizarre sight but Lloyd didn't miss a beat. With 2 quick slashes he made gashes on their chests and Neo jumped forward to slam them with her heel and parasol, dropping both of them. Genis's lightning spell struck the 1st crossbowmen right on his scalp to knock him out while the remaining soldier looked upon the scene in horror.

Neo began to walk ever so casually towards the last soldier with parasol in hand, twirling it as she watched the man desperately attempt to load another arrow. Just as he brought it up to fire she knocked the weapon out his hands and gave him a swift somersault kick. He landed in the sand with his helmet missing and his mouth left agape.

Lloyd began clapping quietly while Genis nodded. She would definitely be a great helped while they looked for their friends.

Suddenly, Lloyd began to scream and shake with electricity visibly coursing through his body. Neo and Genis turned towards the entrance of the town and saw a dozen more desian soldiers, weapons at the ready. They exchanged glances with each other and silently agreed to surrender. There are better times to take chances. The soldiers grabbed both of them (and the now unconscious Lloyd) and began to head towards their base.

 _I guess,_ thought Genis, _she's about to find out about the Desians firsthand._

How was it? Good? Bad? HORRENDOUS!?

Let me know with a review! Until next time, Panda out.


	3. Chapter 3- Jail-house Rock

Hey everyone, Panda again with an update.

You'll notice in this chapter that I refer to the sorcerer's ring as being bracelet sized and worn as such. If you disagree with me, please look up the cutscene where they find it. That is simply not a ring you could wear on your finger.

 _Full sentences in italics indicate thought._

[Brackets] indicate words written down, generally by Neo.

RWBY and its characters are owned by Rooster Teeth.

Tales of Symphonia and its characters are owned by Namco Bandai.

Chapter 3- Jail-house Rock

 _Was Roman this bored when he went to prison?_

Neo had spent the last hour stuck in a cell with an unconscious Lloyd. Whatever electric attack they used to knock him out must have been pretty powerful. She had contemplated teleporting out with her semblance, but this 'chosen's' group was the only real method she had of investigating this world so abandoning him wasn't an option; besides, she was curious about the installation they were in. Compared to the desert town homes and shops, this building had an appearance much closer to the buildings in Remnant.

Only 1 guard was stationed to watch them; he paced regularly to keep an eye everywhere he could. Their captors, whoever they were, had judged that Genis was no threat and released him outside. Both of them were blindfolded, but she did hear them mention something about Genis being a 'kinsman'. He was pretty young to be considering leaving his friend behind so she doubted that was the case. Did he perhaps have a breakout plan?

"Ohh, my head hurts…"

Lloyd had finally woken up, it seemed. He rose to his feet unsteadily, reaching for his twin swords and finding them missing. Neo understood his grimace; she had been separated from her parasol upon entry.

"How long have we been in here, Neo?"

For lack of any pen or paper in the cell, Neo made the sign for 'hour', mimicking the small hand of a clock going around once. Lloyd stared for a moment, and then seemed to register what it was. He seemed to be pretty intuitive, everything else aside.

"An hour isn't too bad. But we need to get out." He examined the lock of the cell. "I can pick this lock open, but the guard who keeps patrolling will probably call backup if he catches me doing it."

 _He can pick locks? Maybe that's why we ended up in jail. But petty theft is hardly a big enough crime to warrant wanted posters._

"Oh, I still have the sorcerer's ring on me!" Neo glanced at Lloyd's hand but didn't see a ring of any sort. Then she realized he was referring to the bracelet on his right wrist. _He… called that a ring? This whole world is backwards._ He continued talking.

"Neo, this thing can shoot a magical fireball out. When it hits him it'll hopefully buy me enough time to pick this lock. Can you take him out when I get the bars open?" She nodded. Not a bad plan as long as that 'ring' worked as advertised. Lloyd waited for the guard to get close enough, arm poised high enough to aim.

When the guard got within 5 feet he was greeted with a fireball to the skull. The guards helmet and head now aflame, Lloyd set right to work picking the lock with a thin piece of metal that had been left on him. It occurred to Neo that these goons didn't know how to strip-search properly.

A tense moment passed, and then…

"Got it! Go!" The bars of the cage began to rise and Neo promptly launched her attack on her soon-to-be victim. Taking only a moment to pin him facedown on the floor with her knee, she placed her hands firmly on his head and, with a loud SNAP, broke his neck to the right. The fire had disappeared sometime during the scuffle but it was irrelevant by that point; he slumped to the floor, quite dead.

Lloyd simply looked stunned. "Wow, uh… good job, Neo. Let's go look for our gear." Her only response was a smirk.

-Lloyd-

They found their stuff in a chest not more than a hallway away. More interesting, though, was a machine that was stood close them and had a little ball of light floating above itself. As Lloyd got close to it the sorcerer's ring began to glow. Curious, he put his arm right next to the machine; in a flash, the ball of light moved into the ring and disappeared.

A hand tapped him on the shoulder, a friendly tap that asked 'what the heck was that'? He couldn't hold back a chuckle. "I don't know what that was either. But, hey, let's find out."

When he fired the sorcerer's ring at a nearby wall a ball of electricity zoomed out, hitting the surface with a 'BZZZ'.

…That sound seemed familiar. Neo didn't look him in the eyes when he turned around. But Lloyd didn't have time to dwell on it because at that moment an alarm began sounding throughout the building, red lights flashing every few seconds. They had to keep moving!

Proceeding into the base they came across a large room with 3 glowing pillars along one wall and a device with rotating parts in the middle. When the door closed behind them they heard a distinctive click. Reexamination revealed that the door was, indeed, locked.

Was that how the room worked, or had they been found? There were two other doors in the room and both of those were locked as well.

"We can't just stay here. Neo, do you see anything on that big machine about opening the doors?"

She walked a full 360 around the machine, examining every inch of it. The intent look in her dual-colored eyes reminded Lloyd of both of their scuffles earlier. She was an awesome fighter, probably just as good as that Kratos guy. Who knew that a girl so small could be so skilled?

…Speaking of which, how old is she anyway?

After Neo finished reading something written on it, she turned to look at the 3 strange pillars. She gestured for Lloyd to come over, pointing at the sorcerer's ring he wore.

"You want me to… use the ring on those things? Ok, but back up just in case."

He pointed his arm towards the middle column and shot the electricity. When it connected the central device in the room began to turn.

 _Whhrrrrr, bmm._

A moment passed. Did he have to do it again? He shot at the right column this time and the machine rotated once more, but not quite as much this time.

 _Whrrr, bmm. Click!_

A door opened, one of the doors that didn't lead back to the cells. There's no way to know if it leads to the exit other than to go. The hallway they traveled went a dozen yards before it split at a T-shape intersection. The right path had multiple men guarding a door so that chose to go left instead. It lead almost immediately to a dead end with a door on each side. Should they go left or right?

From behind them they heard an angry "Hey, it's them!" No time left to think, then! They shot through the right door, praying it was empty of people. Lloyd tried to catch his breath.

But…

"And just who the hell are you?"

…Nothing can ever be easy, can it?

-Neo-

A man with long, blue hair and a black cape was occupying the room. His hand was raised and a light was glowing from it. Clearly, he was ready to fire at the slightest twitch.

Lloyd drew himself and smugly said, "Give me your name and I'll give you mine."

 _Does this boy have no sense of self-preservation!?_

"Hahaha! You certainly have guts. But I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable little creature like you."

"What a coincidence, cause I don't see a need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is."

"Why you little!"

 _Nevermind, they're both children. Thrilling._

At that moment the man noticed something on Lloyd's hand. "An exsphere? You're…Lloyd? (beat) Hmm, I see the resemblance."

Just as Lloyd drew a sword out to attack the man another alarm rang through the building. 2 soldiers and another, much larger man entered the room. The large man boomed, "Sir! We've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility!" Lloyd tensed up even further.

"You…you're the Desian that attacked Iselia!" The men ignored Lloyd.

"Botta! I'm leaving for now. Our plans are ruined if he sees me." "What of the chosen?" "I'll leave that to you"

Blue hair finally looked at Lloyd. "The next time we meet, Lloyd, you're mine. Just you wait." As he walked out a door in the back of the room, several more people arrived.

This was chaos, pure and simple.

Genis was first through the door. "Lloyd! Are you okay?" Following him was a blond girl and a older, brown haired man. The large man, Botta, grinned rather widely.

"Perfect timing. I'll take care of everyone at once!"

"Get Ready!"

Next up, Neo and co. versus Botta! Hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the next entry.


	4. Chapter 4- Dormant abilities

**Hiya everybody! Thank you again for taking an interest in this story.**

 **This chapter sees the introduction of skits. These sections are conversations I feel are relevant to what is happening in the plot or just funny little asides, but don't quite merit a full, narrated discussion. Basically just like the game's skits. ^_^**

 **Also, i've figured out how to put the horizontal lines on the site here. Finally.**

 ** _Full sentences in Italics denote thoughts._**

 **[Brackets] indicate words written down, generally by Neo.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.**

 **Tales of symphonia is owned by Namco Bandai.**

* * *

Chapter 4- Dormant abilities.

-Lloyd-

While Lloyd swung at Botta, who blocked his aggressive blows with his jagged, red scimitar, Kratos and Neo focused on the 2 small fry individually. Colette had attempted to join the fray but Kratos stopped her saying, "Focus on protecting yourself. You are the Chosen." Genis had a spell prepared to fire at any moment, but the cramped room made it so a missed shot would result in him torching a friend by accident; better to play it safe and wait for the right moment.

Kratos's opponent, a whip wielder, was ferocious with his swings. Forced on the defensive, Kratos began casting under his breath. The force he received from blocking only disrupted his spells so he relied solely on dodging.

Left, right. Left, right. This continued until-

"Stone blast!"

-the ground in front of his opponent erupted, violently piercing his legs and chest. He stumbled forwards. Taking two steps forward Kratos brought his blade down on the soldier's neck, cutting it nearly all the way off. (A/N: think reverse Pez dispenser) Blood sprayed across his iron sword but he paid it no heed.

Neo, on the other hand, had forced her sword-wielding foe back into wall. Alternating between kicking and swinging her unopened parasol she struck each one of his limbs, slowing sapping his strength. The soldier, hoping to catch her off guard, jumped forward and swung his sword sideways with all his might. He saw his weapon strike her neck…

…Only to see her body shatter, as if she was made of glass. Where did she-

His thought never finished, as Neo had stabbed his heart from behind with the blade hidden in her parasol. The last thing he saw was his own blood dripping down the edge.

As much as Lloyd hated to admit it, he wasn't going to be able to beat Botta on his own; try as he might his battle experience could not compare to the older man's. He calmly deflected every attack Lloyd threw at him. Making eye contact with Genis, he sent one final swipe towards Botta and jumped away.

Genis shouted 'fireball!' and sent three fiery orbs flying towards the desian. Botta responded by slamming his sword into the ground, sending large chunks of debris into the air that intercepted the magic spell; however, this was the moment Kratos had been waiting for. Leaping forward he swung his sword right at Botta's outstretched arms. He began to pull his hands back but wasn't quite fast enough. The sharp edge caught the hilt of the scimitar and shattered it, forcing Botta to jump backwards to avoid the shards.

"Ugh… I underestimated your abilities."

He fled into the hallway and disappeared. The room was silent for a moment before Genis's sister, Raine, walked in and began examining everything.

"How did you all manage to make such a mess?" She paused over Botta's destroyed weapon. "Isn't this a…"

"Professor!"

"Ah, Lloyd. Genis told me what happened." She glanced at Genis. "I apologize for the trouble he's caused you."

"No, I'm the one that dragged him into all of this. I'm sorry" At this point Kratos interjected.

"Save the chitchat for later. We shouldn't stay here long." Raine nodded.

"You're right. I opened the escape route just now. Let's go."

Just as she said, there was an open path all the way to the exit. The lack of guards impeding their path indicated that they were practically being invited to get out. As they stepped into the desert heat Lloyd's giant, green 'dog' Noishe ran up to him and began whining, prompting Lloyd to pet it.

Raine inquired, "I have a question. This crystalline object attached to this weapon… Is this one of the Exspheres that Genis spoke of?" Kratos glanced at what she held. "It would appear so."

Lloyd chipped in. "Oh yeah, you use an exsphere too, Kratos."

"…So you noticed."

"Well, duh."

The sound of pen-on-paper came from Neo's hands.

[What are Exspheres? That looks like processed Dust.]

Kratos responded.

"It will take a while to explain. We can talk about it when we reach Triet." And so the group set off to the town's inn, ready to set the day's exhaustion behind them.

* * *

 **Skit: Introductions**

Raine (to Neo): I don't believe I've had the pleasure of saying hello. My name is Raine Sage and I'm Genis's older sister, as well as Lloyd and Colette's teacher. Thank you for protecting them before.

Neo: [It's not an issue, and I am Neopalitan. Neo for short.]

Colette: Nice to meet you, Ms. Neo!

Neo: [You are the Colette, the one the children called 'The Chosen'?]

Colette: Yep, that's me. And that's Kratos, a mercenary that my hometown of Iselia hired to protect me.

Kratos: Hello. I must ask, why would you choose to act as guardian for people you have never met?

Neo: [To put it simply, I am not from around here. I've never heard of 'Chosens', 'Desians', 'Exspheres', or any of the city names that everyone has mentioned. Our paths happened to cross when I arrived in this desert. I accompanied them so that I might learn about this world.]

Colette (surprised): 'This world'? What do you mean by that?

Neo: [It would be difficult to explain right now. Would it not be better to continue this discussion at the inn?]

Raine: You aren't wrong. Let's hurry back to town, everyone.

 **End skit.**

* * *

-Neo-

"…In other words, these Exspheres are amplifiers that awaken our dormant capabilities." From what Neo could see, Raine was barely containing her excitement. "I wonder if I could use one, too?!" She could relate, though. The idea of increasing her own ample abilities was tempting. But…

"That would be difficult. Exspheres are harmful to the body without a key crest." Kratos doused the idea with water.

"Um… can't we make a Key Crest?"

"As I told you before, a Key Crest is made by processing inhibitor ore, then engraving it with a crest to control the Exsphere attached to its surface. It is said to be a secret art known only to the dwarves."

"Yeah, I can engrave the…uh, crest," followed Lloyd, "But only my dad can process the ore."

Raine grabbed her rather large bag and emptied it on the floor. "Well, is there any inhibitor ore among these materials?"

Genis and Lloyd began clamoring over the stuff, the latter calling it 'all junk'. Neo spent a moment minding her own thoughts. She had told the group that she was a bodyguard for a scientist whose experiment had gone wrong and sent her to this world. 'Bodyguard' sounded better than 'kidnapper', after all. What intrigued her was that no one in the group had heard of Dust before, and she doubted that so many people would be ignorant of a material like that unless it simply didn't exist here. But even more peculiar…

 _This world has a complete lack of Grimm. There are plenty of monsters, they said, but no creatures of pure malice and darkness. What is it about Remnant that makes it unique? Or, conversely, why is this world of 'Sylvarant' special?_

They had given her a brief explanation of the Chosen's Journey of Regeneration. When the 'Mana' of the world begins to wane the Desians appear to bring chaos. Desians were half-elves who, as far as everyone can tell, despise humans and control places called 'human ranches', which act as slave labor camps.

It is the Chosen's job to activate the seals and, by becoming an 'Angel', return the mana supply to the world and rid it of the Desians. But why do the Desians disappear when the mana is returned?

"Professor, this is a key crest!" She was pulled from her thoughts. Kratos examined the object before handing it to Lloyd.

"It's unusable like this, the crest is half worn off."

"I can fix that. Don't worry, Professor, you'll be able to equip that exsphere tomorrow."

 _Ah, so no Exsphere for me? How disheartening._ She giggled mentally. Who says she needs it, anyways?

Kratos looked at Neo. "So, do you intend to travel with us?"

Scribble, scribble.

[If you don't mind I would like to stay until my acquaintances manage to contact me. I understand that my priority would be to protect Colette.]

The group looked at Colette, being the official team leader. She smiled and said, "Of course you can come with us!"

It was decided that Genis and Raine would share room, Colette and Neo another, and Kratos and Lloyd the last room. Deciding to settle in early, Neo and Colette spent the night relaxing in the room. Lloyd dropped in at one point to say good night to them both after he finished working on the professor's key crest.

Neo lay down on the bed nearest the door. Questions about the nature of the world buzzed in her head, but she would have to be content with learning things bit by bit. As she began to drift to sleep, she could swear that she heard Raine's voice through the wall. "Heheheheh! So this is an Exsphere! **MARVELOUS!** "

 _…I'm gonna pretend that I didn't hear anything._

They had a long journey ahead of them…and her gut was telling her it was going to be a hard one.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, and please come back for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5- Trial by Fire

Hello again…again. Panda here with Chapto 5-o.

A couple people have asked me why I keep the chapters on the short side; the answer to that is my work schedule. I work in a factory with rotating shifts. I work either 7 AM to 7 PM or 7 PM-7AM. It stinks. By keeping the chapters short I can stay motivated on getting them done. The longer a chapter is the more it seems like an overbearing task.

 _Full sentences in italics represent thought or flashback, as context appropriate._

[Brackets] indicate words written down, generally by Neo.

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.

Tales of Symphonia is owned by Namco Bandai.

* * *

Chapter 5- Trial by Fire.

The group reconvened in front of the inn in the morning. With all their equipment together and checked, Kratos said, "Let's get moving. The seal Remiel spoke of is in the Triet Ruins southwest of here." Colette nodded.

"Yes, I'll do my best!" Lloyd was looking rather hyper.

"Cool, let's go check out that seal!"

Genis shook his head and mumbled, "Let's see how long that enthusiasm lasts."

-2 hours later-

"Man…I am sick of this desert."

"See, Lloyd? You're already worn out."

"Don't worry, Lloyd," offered Colette, "We should be there very soon. (Beat) See those ruins?"

Neo examined the area as they approached it. As far as she could see there were only a few half-destroyed stone pillars and a smaller structure that looked like an altar. On the ground was what appeared to be gray stone…

…And that's as far as she got before… _it_ happened.

"Fantastic! Look at this slab covering the entrance! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!"

Raine had launched into an enthusiastic monologue, quickly crouching low to the ground to examine the door. The rest of the party was left dumbfounded watching the normally calm Raine completely lose it.

"Hahaha! It's just as I thought. This is polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to defend against magic! Oh, feel the smooth surface! It's wondrous!"

Neo wrote a short sentence down and showed it to Genis.

[Is she always like this?]

"…" No response. Lloyd pushed, "Well, is she?"

He sighed. "And I've been trying so hard to hide it, too."

At this point Neo pulled out a notebook. She had decided that, due to the sheer volume of information she might pick up during her travels, she needed to keep anything relevant written down. Flipping to the section for 'People', she jotted down a note under Raine Sage.

[Raine (gained the title of) Ruin Maniac] Not that Raine was paying attention.

"Hmm? This depression, it reads… 'oracle stone.' Colette, place your hand here. This stone should be enchanted with magic designed to identify the Chosen."

"Yes, professor." She approached the altar and gently set her hand on it.

 _Dmmm!_ Woooooosh- _ka!_

The slab of stone loudly slid inwards to reveal a set of stairs leading down. Colette clapped.

"Wow, I guess I really am the chosen!"

"Yes, Colette, I think we settled that already," quipped Genis.

The interior of the ruins was dark, but red-hot coals along the walls prevented it from getting to dark to see. Proceeding forward they came to a split in the path. The two ways were rounded, as if they circled around a large room.

After a moment Lloyd said, "Whichever path we take, I don't think we should split up." The group at large nodded in response. The lack of information about this place meant separating could be disastrous.

Colette chimed, "I feel like we should go left." Nobody offered a dissenting opinion, so they did. As they walked a few moments down that path, three creatures seeped out of the wall; two in front and one behind them. The monsters were unique, as least as far as Neo was concerned; they were spherical pieces of earth that floated a foot above the ground. Each one had a small ring of fire orbiting around it; evidently, they had absorbed (or been crafted from) the essence of the surrounding ruins.

Raine and Colette instinctively moved to the center of the group, Lloyd and Kratos shifted front, and Neo and Genis squared against the rear foe. Neo dove forward and swung her unsheathed sword at it. The blade hit the top of it, but it was hard to tell if she actually dealt any lasting damage.

"Move, Neo!"

Jumping sideways, she witnessed the monster become encased in a block of ice. It dropped to the floor, weakened but still alive. She approached it once more and drove her weapon through its center; it died without producing any noise, just fading into dust. When she glanced at Genis he gave an enthusiastic grin. That boy's age aside, he was good.

On the front line, Lloyd and Kratos had coordinated to destroy one creature, but the remaining foe had managed to build up its energy and was blasting fireballs at them. The endless barrage made it difficult for anyone to approach without getting scorched.

"Kratos," yelled Lloyd, "try to walk forward with your shield up! I've got an idea." Doing as suggested Kratos inched closer while Lloyd stayed no more than a foot behind him. When they managed to get within a 10 feet Lloyd launched himself into the air, drawing the monster's attention as he rose over it.

 _Bam!_

Kratos struck the being with his sword followed by Lloyd stabbing it from above, sending it crashing into the floor in hundreds of pieces. They held their breaths as they waited for it to move again; thankfully, it dissipated after a moment. Lloyd gave a small cheer.

"Now that's how we do- AHH, crap that burns!" Everyone looked at him to see his left leg on fire. He had to spend a moment putting out the flames that their now-deceased foe planted on him. Fire finally out, he gave a sigh as Raine approached him with her staff out.

"Lloyd, that was very reckless of you."

"I know, I know. But everyone else is okay, right?"

"Yes, but do think harder about any other plans you have." She placed her staff near his leg and said 'First Aid', causing his burn to heal (though his clothes remained charred.) Neo wrote down the word 'Healer' by her name in the Notebook.

 _These Exspheres do seem to be powerful artifacts._

This was very much worth reporting to Cinder. However, Lloyd himself also intrigued Neo. He had no qualms putting himself in harms way by acting as bait for that attack. Was he protective of the others or, as Raine said, just plain reckless?

The remainder of their time inside the dungeon was… annoying, to say the least. The hallway did, in fact, lead to one very large, open area. The ground was covered entirely in lava, so they were forced to walk and leap from pillar to pillar to get around. That's when they discovered that there were certain pits within the pillars that needed to be lit on fire with the Sorcerer's Ring. When the fire-pits were activated, they raised or lowered particular stone platforms around the room.

Thus, they had to walk back and forth, doing the best they could to figure out which columns of fire needed to be 'on'. And all the while it was getting very, _very_ hot. Thankfully, no more of those creatures (called Fire Elementals by Raine) appeared. Only bats showed up; lots, and lots, of bats.

After nearly three total hours of frustration they managed to get to a 'Transporter' (again, quoting Raine) that took them to a room with gold and blue ornamental pillars. In the center back of the room was a large, round altar with steps leading up to it. Raine was practically chomping at the scenery.

"This place is also built with magitechnology! Absolutely fantastic!" Nobody responded.

As they proceeded inward the center of the room became the center of attention as it began to glow with an angry, crimson light. Flames erupted from the seal in a column, only to dwindle and reveal 3 shapes; two small, cat like creatures and one very large cat with spikes along its spine. The larger feline had powerful muscles and fire-covered fur. Even the small ones were the size of people, so the central beast's presence was almost overwhelming.

Kratos issued the orders this time. "Neo, Colette, focus on the left monster; Lloyd, you and Genis attack the right monster. I'll stall the Guardian for time until you can join me." He didn't need to tell Raine to focus on healing the wounded as she already knew.

Colette brandished two chakram and threw one at her target, giving it a gash across its front-right leg. As it roared in anger Neo dashed in, only to reverse course when it spat a stream of fire at her. She gestured for Colette to throw the other chakram vertically and as hard as she could. When the ring-blade was thrown Neo ran a semi-circle around the feline and approached again, forcing it to turn around to swipe at her in defense.

 _Slash!_

The chakram ran along the creature's spine and blood began to pour out. With a 'shnk' Neo drove her blade into its forehead. Falling to the ground, it gave a single twitch before movement ceased altogether.

Lloyd and Genis chose a different strategy; Mainly, Genis repeatedly cast icicle on the creature while Lloyd acted as vanguard and drew its aggression. Keeping the monster far away allowed the young mage to slowly chip at its health, and before too long it died standing up, ice shards sticking out of its skin in numerous places.

The seal's true guardian was relentless in its assault, but its size was a disadvantage to it as Kratos repaid every attempted attack with a slash to the offending limb. Growing frustrated, the monster launched its full body at Kratos and forced him to raise his shield to block, but as he did so he felt his body… shift, in a manner of speaking.

One moment he was standing before the beast, and the next he was behind the beast while standing next to Neo. How had she moved him? Magic?

With a shout of 'Aqua Edge!' floating disks of water slammed into the guardian's left side and disoriented it. Concurrently, a chakram plunged itself into the right shoulder and the beast cried in pain. Lloyd yelled 'Kratos!' and made a thrusting motion.

Following the cue, Kratos charged forward and stabbed as hard as he could into its chest while Lloyd did the same. The monster took one step forward before simply disappearing, and as it vanished so did the smaller creatures' corpses.

(A/N yay, unison attacks)

The group surveyed the scene, wanting to avoid any unexpected surprises. The device in the room began to glow again, but this time with a much softer, inviting light. A voice boomed from over their heads.

"You, the Chosen of Regeneration. Offer your prayers at the altar." Colette responded, "Yes, my lord." Approaching the seal, she knelt to the floor and placed her hands together in prayer.

"Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!"

* * *

Now wasn't that exciting?

No? You knew they'd make it? Well, darn.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you leave a review.

And yes, as you can see Dark Habit, ice cream lady handled the heat just fine. You can come back in now.


	6. Chapter 6- Birth of an Angel

**Neo: [So where have you been?]**

 **Oh I've, uh… been around…**

 **Neo: [But not typing this story up.]**

 **Not really, no.**

 **Neo: [And what, pray tell, could keep you from continuing a story about the illustrious me?]**

 **Would having a kid on the way and moving houses work?**

 **Neo: … [I suppose.]**

 **The prodigal author returns. I'm sorry for disappearing for months on end, but I'm going to try to keep the updates semi-regular from here on out. Baby isn't here yet but at least we've done most of the prep work.**

 ** _Full sentences in italics represent thought in first-person POV_**

 **[Brackets] indicate words written down.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth**

 **Tales of Symphonia is owned by Namco Bandai.**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Birth of an Angel

-Neo POV-

An orb of light descended from the ceiling, stopping a small distance above Colette. After a moment of pause it bloomed to reveal a blond man with green robes and… white wings? He spoke.

"Colette, my dear daughter, you have done well."

"Thank you… Father." Was she serious!?

"The guardian of the seal has fallen, and the first seal has been released. Efreet will surely awaken soon. In the name of Cruxis, I shall grant you the power of the angels."

Colette rose to her feet. "Thank you, my lord." Three additional balls of light appeared and floated into her body, causing her entire form to glow. Suddenly, a pair of vibrant, pink wings grew from her back. As she flapped them she began to rise in the air, until she was almost eye level with her supposed father. It was at this moment a thought struck Neo.

 _This isn't some symbolic journey of faith… We are transforming this girl into an angel._

"The angel transformation will not be without pain. Yet, it is but for one night. Be strong and endure." Colette nodded. "I humbly accept this trial."

"The next seal lies far to the east, across the sea. Offer your prayers at that altar."

"Yes, Lord Remiel."

The angel seemed to evaporate into light. "I shall await you at the next seal, the Chosen of Regeneration, my beloved daughter, Colette."

As Colette returned to the ground and began talking with Lloyd and Genis, Neo couldn't help but ponder… How could she put it? The entire conversation felt much more servant/master than father/daughter. Remiel's tone was flat and impartial the entire time.

Lloyd eventually switched to Raine and Kratos. "He said the next place is across the sea! That means we get to sail on a ship! Haha! I can't wait!"

Raine put her hand to her lips thoughtfully. "A ship…hmm. I wonder if there are any ships sailing with the way things are right now."

"We should head to the coast to see what we can find."

Neo gestured to Genis and Colette to quit playing around with her new wings. It was time to return to the surface.

They exited the Ruins in the early evening. But as they passed by the outer columns Colette suddenly collapsed to her knees on the ground. Lloyd was first to jump.

"Colette! Are you okay?" Her response was weak, to say the least. "I'm…fine…"

Genis was frantic. "You don't look fine at all! Your face is completely white! It's all my fault. I got carried away and kept making her pull her wings in and out." Lloyd shook his head.

"I don't think that was it."

"Now's not the time for that! Her lips are turning purple. We must get her to a doctor in the city immediately." As Raine made to move Colette's body Kratos cut her off.

"Wait. It's best not to move her."

"Why?"

"Remember the angel's words, Lloyd. The angel transformation process requires her to overcome a trial. Rather than taking her to a doctor, it would be best to let her rest here."

The party finally agreed to settle down at a nearby water hole. As they night came down Colette's condition started to improve but she hadn't eaten any of the food in front of her. After the campfire was settled to a low burn, Lloyd began to talk to the others separately. Neo took the opportunity to approach the sitting angel-to-be.

Scribble, scribble.

[Feeling better?]

"Yes, I'm sorry to worry all of you."

[But you haven't swallowed a bite of food.]

"Well, no… but…" She sighed. "I'm not hungry." Neo got the feeling that topic should be dropped, so she switched tracks.

[So that angel, 'Remiel?' Is he really your father?]

"Yes, but he's not the man who raised me. You see, for the longest time there was a rumor that I was the daughter of an angel instead of my human father, Frank. When I met Lord Remiel at the Martel Temple he called me his daughter." Neo couldn't help but smile sadly.

[You're a girl with two fathers. Consider yourself blessed.]

That note made Colette giggle. "Lloyd said the same thing when we found out."

"What's that about me?" Lloyd was walking near them. He sat down next to Colette, opposite Neo.

"We were just talking about everything that happened on my birthday."

"Oh yeah. I know it's kind of late now, but here's your birthday present…" Lloyd was handing a small package to her, but as it opened the trio discovered that necklace inside was broken into pieces.

"…oh no, it's broken." Colette looked disappointed. Lloyd's eyes flicked between her and the gift. "I wonder when it broke? I'm sorry; I'll make you a new one."

"Thanks, and…I'm sorry that I keep causing trouble for you."

"Don't worry about it."

Colette then stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk."

"Want me to come?"

"Thanks, but I'll be fine by myself." And alone she walked off to gaze at the water. Genis, who had been listening in, chose that moment to chime in teasingly. "Ha-ha, you got re-jec-ted."

Lloyd snapped back. "Shut up, Genis." Neo only rolled her eyes at the antics. Either the boys weren't taking the journey seriously, or this was the only way they knew how to act. Neither option bode well for their future.

The next day would see them traveling east to cross the mountains on the 'Ossa Trail'. Deciding it was time to sleep, she laid down with her head on her supply bag. As she drifted off to dreams, she contemplated the effort it would take to make a necklace as opposed to just buying one.

Reaching Ossa trail took most of the morning. The climate of the mountains was mercifully cooler than the desert and the party welcomed the change. When they began the ascent they were surprised by a female's voice.

"Stop!"

A girl in an odd purple outfit stood on a cliff above them. She jumped down to their level and surveyed the group at large. Lloyd asked, "What?"

"Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

The stranger spoke again. "Is the Chosen of Mana among you?"

"Oh, that's me."

"…Prepare to die!" The woman suddenly charged forward with a knife in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. Colette, caught off guard by the assault, fell backwards and...

…Hit a lever she was standing near.

 _Click!_

The ground beneath the assassin gave way and she fell straight down a newly opened hole.

 _Did that really just happen?_

Neo had to snap her hanging mouth shut. Lloyd leaned towards her and simply said, "Yep. That's Colette," before walking over to console a worried angel. Bringing out her notebook, Neo wrote some words on Colette's page.

[Chosen of Mana. Klutz.] She paused. [Born Lucky?] That girl really must be the daughter of an angel to pull stunts like that off.

* * *

Woo! Finally back in form.

I know there isn't much new stuff here compared to the source game, but we will get there sooner rather than later.

Read/Review, i love all criticism. Panda out.


	7. Chapter 7 (revised)

**So... Hi there... i guess? It's been a while.**

 **A long while.**

 **...Okay i'm sorry! Life is life, but this project hasn't been discontinued i swear. My child will be arriving within the week and I am losing my mind over these nerves. But man oh man is baby girl going to be adorable!**

 **Neo: [You have got to stay focused on me here.]**

 **Oh be quiet.**

 **[I am.]**

 **Poll announcement! I want to add some more (good-aligned) rwby characters to be regulars for this story, but I want you to decide who they will be. You will find the poll on my profile page.**

 _'apostrophe covered sentences in italics' represent a thought._

 **[Brackets] indicate words written down.**

 **Disclaimer: I own neither RWBY nor Tales of Symphonia.  
**

* * *

Chapter 7- Travel plans.

Roman Torchwick considered himself a somewhat patient man. If his plans took a long time to come to fruition, he was fine with that. But that patience has never extended to people and, unfortunately, that's exactly what his day was filled up with. One annoying, time-consuming person.

"So repeat yourself just one more time, I want to make sure I've got this right. The only way you can find somebody in another world is if they are holding this... thing?" Said object was similar to an open scroll but with an added dark-green orb at the top of it.

The man he was talk- well, interrogating, was the scientist Neo had been sent to pick up. Dr. Griza had already explained to Roman that the pink and brown kidnapper was now taking residence in another dimension (as hard as it was to comprehend that there are potentially an infinite number of worlds that aren't Remnant.)

"That's correct. I made those sensors so that I can locate those I've sent and, if necessary, bring them back. But your... associate didn't have one since she was sent there so suddenly. I only sent one person to that world with the sensor. The main console," Griza said pointing to his computer, "will give you his coordinates."

"But that won't be much help finding Neo. Great." Roman sighed. Should he tell Cinder he messed up? No, he was already on thin ice after the train breach didn't go as planned.

 _'I'll just have to find her before Cinder...'_

"You seem flustered, Roman."

 _'...finds out. Shit.'_

* * *

 **Skit: How not to do sandwiches.**

Raine: We haven't eaten since morning, so I've gone ahead and made everyone some sandwiches.

Lloyd: Yes, thanks professor! I'm starving.

Neo: *grabs one and bites into it*

Genis: Um, sis? What kind of sandwiches are these?

Raine: Oh just peanut butter, jelly, and curry powder.

Lloyd: What th- why would you do that!?

Raine: Well, a PB&J is very sweet, right? So I thought it could use another component.

Colette: Professor? Neo's stopped breathing!

Kratos: First Aid!

* * *

The remainder of the Ossa Trail trek was uneventful. When they neared the end a small blood trail was found at the main entrance to the mines; Kratos theorized that the assassin was too heavily wounded from the fall to continue the attack.

A perusal of their map showed that the coastal town of Izoold was just a little east of them. They agreed to head there since it might be their only way of finding a ship to the Palmacosta continent, as well as the fact they wanted to be in at least a small town by nightfall.

Neo was examining her supplies when she realized she was running low on pads of paper to write on; She had avoided using her scroll since she would have no way of charging it once the battery ran out. When she asked the others what options this world had for writing tools, Raine recommended buying a small white board and lots of markers once they hit a major city.

The best word to describe Izoold would be 'quaint'. It was tiny, with only a few boats of varying sizes attached to the dock. They decided check the largest boat, a schooner, to inquire about a paid trip.

As they approached the dock a stocky man with stubble called out to them. "You strangers looking for something?" "Yes," replied Kratos, "we need passage to Palmacosta. Would any of the fishermen be able to take us?"

The man scoffed. "Not likely, in the current season. The monsters have gotten more active. We can barely get a mile out to make catches, much less make it across the sea. You'd have better luck heading there through Hakonesia Peak." With a chuckle he turned away to see to his nets.

Raine quickly retrieved the world map from her bag and presented it for the group at large. "Let's see. Getting to Hakonesia peak from here will likely take four days, three if we hurry. From there another two days to reach Palmacosta."

Genis chimed in here. "Wouldn't it be best to search for clues for the other Seals on the way? Like, at major monuments?"

"Yes, the Tower of Mana comes to mind. But it was sealed some years ago, so it's likely we won't be able to get in either. All we can do is make inquirys on the way, I suppose." Something was bothering Neo about the conversation.

[You mentioned in Triet that Colette was not the first Chosen. Shouldn't this information be written down somewhere?]

Colette answered. "There is a book called the Book of Spiritua that should have the locations of the Seals. Last I heard it was being kept by the governer of Palmacosta. All the more reason to get there."

"Then our path is decided," declared Kratos. "Tomorrow we set out North towards Hakonesia Peak. We shall investigate along the way."

Retiring to the inn, they ate dinner and settled down in their beds, all in the same room this time. Lloyd decided to make some conversation with Neo. "So, Neo. You said you were that scientist's bodyguard, but is that your regular job?"

[No. I was assigned to him by my main boss, a businessman named Roman.]

"What type of business does he do?"

 _'Better... not to answer that one.'_ [Your fighting style is quick, but a little sloppy. Are you self-taught?]

"Yep. My dad's a blacksmith; he could help me build muscle and virtues, but his little dwarven body couldn't teach me form."

[Dwarf? Those are real?]

The room went silent. Uncomfortably so.

She inaudibly sighed. [Would you mind teaching me some more about this world, Professor Sage?]

Raine laughed. "It seems i've gotten another student to take care of."

* * *

Thank you for your patience. I will let the poll run while i take care of the newborn, then continue based on that.


	8. Chapter 8- Trust?

**Baby has arrived! Cute baby Holly.**

 **There is a 3 way tie in the poll. If you have a favorite character, vote for them on my profile!**

 **I made an error. In the last chapter i referred to the book of Spiritua as the book of regeneration. I have now fixed it.**

 _'apostrophe sentences italicized are thoughts'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: I don't own either property.**

* * *

Chapter 8 - Trust?

.

"Thanks again for the hard work, Clif!"

Waving his hand goodbye in response to his boss, Clif stepped out into the crisp air of Luin after dusk. It had been two months since the Faunus had been sent to this world and he couldn't be happier for it. The patrons at the restaurant thought he was doing a cute "cosplay" and tipped him well, and even the store owner, who understood that the dog ears and tail were in fact natural, never shunned him. To quote Emily herself, "As long as you do good work, I will never turn you away."

Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out the transmitter Dr. Griza had given him. He was worried; the messages from the Doc had been coming every three days or so, but now a week had passed with nary a word. Was he okay?

Rounding the corner to go over a bridge, he stopped when a man wearing a white suit and black bowler hat conspicuously stepped in front of him. His appearance was familiar, but Clif couldn't quite figure out where he-

 _'Roman Torchwick, the known criminal.'_ Of course. Clif had left Remnant, but the worlds demons followed him even here.

Roman spoke. "Well, hey! This search didn't take a long time at all. Good ol' Griza told me the truth. Ooh, and you're even holding the thing i wanted to talk to you about. Thanks for making this simple, Clif." The Faunus flinched. He was going to die. Roman was here to kill him, h-he wasn't going to just let him be happy in a new world, he-!

"Woah, settle down there, puppy. What, do you think I'm gonna do something to you? Now, now. Just breathe deep, nice and slow." Clif did so. "There you go. Look, just do as you're told and I won't be bothering you again." Roman pulled a picture out of his coat pocket and handed it to him. It was a woman with mismatch pink-and-brown hair and eyes.

"It's easy. If you see this friend of mine, you will give her your transmitter, tell her how it works, and tell her Roman is waiting for her call. You do this, and you can continue to live in whatever doghouse you've made for yourself. If you don't..." Roman put his Melodic Cudgel at Clifs throat, "I will just have to put you down."

All he could do was nod in return.

* * *

They set out north in the morning, taking a day and a half to reach the Tower of Mana. Long by the standards of airships, sure, but not unbearable. This gave Neo plenty of time to observe her fellow travelers. To note:

Colette, as the Chosen, was technically the leader. But she was passive. Not in a shrinking violet kind of way, more like she just didn't like to assert authority. This led to others ultimately making most of the decisions. Maybe she could be forceful under different circumstances? It was a peaceful trip, minus the occasional monster.

Raine was knowledgable, being a teacher by trade. She lent Neo a history book she brought with her for the children's studies. By far the most cool-headed, until she began describing the history of the Tower of Mana. Lloyd had aptly named this 'Ruin Mode'.

Speaking of whom, Lloyd was unique. He had absolutely no mind for science or math (his brain threatened to melt when Raine quizzed him on the table of elements,) but when creatures attacked he could analyze the scene and determine the proper formation they should use. A natural leader, but naive. She could sense it would come to haunt him in time.

Genis was a ball of pure intelligence and snark. Not that he couldn't be nice, but if a conversation needed a wisecrack he had it ready to go. But most importantly, the magic he could use was powerful. He'd be amazing once he grew up.

Last, but certainly not least, was Kratos. He was very skilled with a sword and blissfully normal, but... well, not that she was in a position to judge, but Neo couldn't see him as trustworthy. Colette had described how he popped out of nowhere right when they were in trouble. Her time with Roman had taught her that there is no such thing as coincidence.

What bugged her the most is that he suspected her, too. The night before they reached the tower he pulled her to the side during the first night watch.

"When we fought the Fire Guardian, what did you use to move me away from the beast?"

[That is my Semblance.] "Semblance?" Ooh, they were going to have to start from the beginning, weren't they? Where to start...

[Do you know of Aura? It is an energy that exists in all living things.]

"You mean Mana?"

[Judging from what I've read in this textbook and heard from Raine, they seem to be slightly different. Monsters in this world have Mana, Right?]

"Yes, every creature and plant has it, down to the very ground we walk on. It is vital to the existence of life itself. Magic users, such as Genis and Raine, can use it to cast spells at will."

[Well, in my world, Aura pulses through people and animals; but not in the monsters, the Grimm, and certainly not in the plants and earth. Aura provides a barrier of sorts that protects us from damage up to a point; and, if a person has trained well, they unlock powers we call Semblances. These Semblances are unique to each individual. What happened to you in the Seal was me using my power, 'Mirror', to move you out of the way.]

 _"Hmm. So you truly are from a world not of our own."_ He sighed. "Maybe if Anna and I had been born in that world..." Neo tilted her head inquisitively. "Nothing. Could you describe that power for me?"

 _'Only if i can bug you back. Actually, wait.'_

[I'll tell you, but on one condition.]

"What is it?"

[You tell me why you and Lloyd look so alike.]

Kratos froze. He and Neo stared at each other in silence, with her switching the colors of her eyes playfully. She couldn't stop the smirk on her face, so why not enjoy the tense moment?

Finally he sighed. "Fine, I'll drop it. But don't think that i trust you yet."

[I don't need you to. But thanks for making it clear.]

Not another word was said all night.

They arrived around noon of day two, the tower so tall that Neo couldn't see the top even when she craned her neck backwards. Raine immediately launched into a lesson on how the Tower of Mana was used to pray to the Tower of Salvation until monsters appeared. Neo circled the base of the structure, searching in vain for any possible entrance. Lloyd examined the only door.

"Sorry, but there's no picking this lock. What are the odds of this actually being a Seal?"

"Fairly high," responded Kratos, "but there's no way to know for sure without getting in or finding and reading the book of Spiritua."

Genis shrugged. "Sorry sis, we'll just have to wait until we find the key. So should we head to Luin next, so that we can sleep at the inn?"

Colette turned to Raine. "Where else could a seal be on this continent, Professor?" Raine paused to think. "A clue could be hidden in Asgard, the city that hosts rituals in honor of Sylph, the Summon Spirit of Wind. If we go to Luin and sleep, Asgard is just a day away going straight south."

The group accepted her idea and left for Luin right away. Little did Neo know that when she got there, she would be given a new set of instructions... from her real boss.

* * *

 **So glad i could get this chapter out so fast. Let's hope this keeps up, eh?**

 **A cookie to the first person who gets where 'Clif' is from and posts it :P**

 **And please review, it helps me know how I'm doing and what I'm doing right/wrong.**


	9. Chapter 9- Assassins and their jobs

**So to give you all a spoiler on the poll, at the time of writing this Weiss has lost the chance to be relevant because she has literally no votes in the poll. None. Maybe the epilogue lol.  
**

 **But you all want to know who won, don't you? Well, I guess you'll just have to read on!**

 **Also, if I can ever make my Neo come off like the one on RWBY chibi, that would be GREAT.**

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[Brackets are words written down.]

 **Disclaimer: I own neither property.**

* * *

Chapter 9 - Assassins and their jobs.

.

The sun was just beginning to set as the group reached Luin. Nestled right on the edge of a lake, to say the view was picturesque was an understatement. Bridges connected a series of islands together to form a rather sizeable city.

They entered from the west side of the city and came upon a fountain and several children surrounding an adult. But the adult playing with them was the would-be assassin from Ossa Trail!

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll be it this time." The kids cheered. "Hehe, yay! Everybody hide!" The crowd scattered and the purple-garbed woman chuckled to herself. She turned around to begin counting out loud, but froze when she locked eyes with the Chosen's group

A moment passed with no movement from either party. Finally the woman asked, "Wh-what are you looking at?" The only response came from Lloyd.

"You're actually a nice person after all."

The tense moment became awkward as most of Lloyd's companions turned towards him with incredulous looks on their faces. Only Colette was different, nodding slowly with a smile on her face. "Uh huh!"

The mystery woman shook her head back and forth. "Don't think saying that changes anything. We're still enemies!" After that she walked off, almost forgetting that she was playing a game with the children.

Genis decided to change topics. "I'm pretty hungry. I vote we go to a restaurant and let somebody else cook for once." With no dissenting opinions they made their way to the commercial island. Choosing the first restaurant they came across, the group all sat down with a tired grunt. Kratos and Raine began discussing the possible location of the seals, Lloyd and Genis looked over the menu, and Colette started people watching.

As for Neo, she decided to just stare at the table and problem solve. The battery on her scroll was officially dead, even if she restocked on note cards they would only go for so long, and, according to a local she asked on the way, there was no sort of arts and craft store in this town that would have a white board. The only option left was making somebody in the group learn her sign language; That, or writing on their palm.

Colette's voice snapped Neo out of her thoughts. "Look, that person has such cute dog ears! And a tail, too!"

 _'Dog ears? A faunus in this world?'_

She looked to where the blond was pointing to discover that, yes, there was in fact a dog-faunus working as a server. The young man was chatting happily with an older couple sitting in a booth. Neo watched as the manager called out to him and pointed at the very table she was sitting at. The youth nodded in response, said farewell to the customers he just served, turned to walk to their table...

...and _**froze**_ at the sight of Neo.

 _'He knows who i am?'_

It was puzzling to her; clearly, he was from the world of Remnant. But she had made it a point over the years to not stick out (well, at least as much as Roman did). Either he was well-informed or a runaway from the White Fang, and neither option bode well for her if he told the people she was traveling with.

The man hesitated for several moments, obviously struggling between coming to their table or making a run for it. After a while he took a deep breath, locked eyes with Neo, and walked straight towards her. He stopped in front of her and slowly said, "Can I talk with you for a moment? Outside?"

Neo peered at the others in her group; every eye was on her, waiting to see what the heck this was about. Her only answer to his was to stand up and gesture to the door. If he threatens to bust her real occupation, she could just knock him out and make up a story.

The sun was fully set, stars making their first glimpses in the sky. The faunus man spent another moment or two gathering himself and Neo found herself getting impatient. Just as she was going to turn to go back inside he spoke, "Roman has a message for you. 'Message me as soon as you get this.' Now, take this transmitter, read the instructions I taped to the back, and _leave me the hell alone._ " With a huff he spun and ran back inside the eatery.

She idly read the brief control notes while mentally cheering. She could finally get back to her real job! Roman had found a way to make contact with her. He was an evil-minded crook and a lying, manipulating piece of work, but he had never let her down.

Ironically.

Pressing a few buttons on the scroll-like machine, she began typing a message out. [This is Neo. I have the machine. Annoying delivery boy. Let me eat before you contact me.] Send.

Walking back inside, she met the gazes of her soon-to-be former travel companions. Neo decided to use her new 'transmitter' to type out the answer to their unasked question. [My boss, Roman, got in contact with me through that server. He also came from my home world, so they left me this device for communicating. After we eat they will probably be picking me up for the return trip.]

Raine was intrigued by this. "So a machine that small can allow contact with another world? How absolutely fascinating! What type of magitechnology does your home possess? Can I take it apart for analysis!?" Genis chose to cut in there. "No, sis, she just managed to get her hands on it."

"So this is where we part ways," mused Kratos. Not that they liked each other. Colette's remorse was a little more genuine. "But we just got to know you. It really is a shame." Lloyd had the most enthusiastic response. "After we finish our journey and Colette becomes an Angel, you've got to let us visit your world! I bet it's amazing!"

Neo chuckled silently. They were a curious bunch, but she would miss the dynamic. Maybe she could visit this world when she wanted to get away from the Grimm for a while.

Supper was consumed and they made their way to one of the larger inns. Neo chose to stay outside to wait for the return portal, but a glance towards a 2nd floor window revealed a group of very curious onlookers: Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and Raine.

 _'Curiosity killed the Chosen.'_

Not much time had passed when a perfectly round portal opened up a couple of yards in front of her. It amused her that she wouldn't have to fall through this one. However, the person who stepped out of the hole wasn't her coat-wearing business partner, but the one individual she well and truly feared.

Cinder.

Masking her panic behind a smile, Neo made a small bow. Cinder smiled in response. At least she was in a good mood. "Do we have an audience, Neo?" The mute pointed upwards. Cinder glanced up, saw the window peepers, and gave a polite wave in greeting.

Neo chose that moment to hand over the notebook containing the gathered intel on this world. The raven-haired beauty read it thoroughly. "How interesting. Thank you for being so dutiful about your note taking. It's great that you started this, because I want to assign you a rather, shall we say, 'long-term' job."

Neo only nodded. There was no saying no to this.

"First, you will continue traveling with them. Their connections will provide ample opportunity to insert a little strategic chaos into this world. And second, I intend to transfer some of the... problematic students away from Vale so that they can't interfere with our plans."

Cinder stepped closer, almost whispering. "When you come across the ones that we send, it will be your job to kill them. Use whatever methods you see fit, but be sure to avoid arousing the suspicion of your 'companions'."

She stepped way after that declaration. "I look forward to seeing what we can do in this new domain of Sylvarant." With a final wave goodbye towards the Chosen's window, Cinder disappeared into the portal. It then winked out of existence, leaving behind only the promise of death.


	10. Chapter 10- Plans

**So I saw a couple more votes go into the poll immediately after I posted the last chapter. Are you guys trying to get someone killed?**

 **For future reference, I'm going to be taking a couple liberties with Neo's Semblance, because we don't know exactly how it works anyways. Creative discretion!  
**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: I own neither property.**

* * *

Chapter 10 - Plans

.

Neo felt a little frustrated as she walked inside the inn. Gathering more information and making political connections was easy, and she didn't have any moral qualms about killing whoever was sent to her. But erasing their enemies while keeping those 5 out of the loop would be no minor task. For lack of anything better to do, she began making a mental pro:con list.

 _'Fighting and k_ _illing them before the group knows about them at all.'_

 _Pro: No questions on why somebody was now dead. "They attacked first, so just ignore the blood."_

 _Con: If somebody is being sent to this world to be killed, they are likely to be a formidable threat. That kind of fight would be noticed by somebody before long._

Impractical.

 _'Poison their food.'  
_

 _Pro: Can be done sneakily. No obvious clues to point towards me._

 _Con: If I'm around them long enough to be eating near them, the target might be suspicious of me themselves._

Feasible, but would require lowering their guard.

 _'Situational 'they got caught by so-and-so and were killed.''  
_

 _Pro: If I just "happened" to help somebody else put the sword in their back, then I'm free of suspicion._

 _Con: Would require getting lucky enough for a proper scenario to occur._

This would likely take a long time to pull off. But who could make a believable scapegoat? Not some common thug.

No. It would have to be an acknowledged threat, someone or something that is known to kill. Maybe a large group...

 _'...Such as the Desians! That's it!'_

These Desians are known around the world for being murderous half-elves. Poor little whats-their-name will just so happen to be a victim. Now let's just hope that the next group of Desians they meet are more capable than the ones that captured them in the dessert.

Finally comfortable with the plan, she walked upstairs and entered the room Colette and the others were sitting in. The group rented out 2 rooms with 3 beds each. Each room was more than large enough to accommodate everyone sitting and talking before they went to sleep.

Genis was the first to address Neo. "So I'm guessing that wasn't your 'businessman' boss?" She used the transmitter to type again since it's a heck of a lot faster than writing everything out.

[No, that was my boss's boss. She told me that if I wanted to, and you were all willing, I could continue traveling with you all to learn more about the world.] Colette, Genis, and Lloyd promptly voiced their approval and cheered. Raine simply sat back and smiled. But a voice of dissent arose from Kratos.

"I'm not sure i understand. What do you hope to gain from this?" That distrust was going to get her in trouble one of these days. But it was not this day. She only had to convince the other members of the group.

[I won't lie, I'm not doing this out of a desire to save the world. I'm only doing this because you all interest me. I want to see how this journey of yours unfolds. The more I learn along the way, the better I suppose.] It was believable, and only part of it was a lie; but as she looked around the room she saw something peculiar; Colette, who had up to this point been all smiles, had a small frown. When the fledgling angel caught Neo looking the frown quickly flipped over to a rather... fake smile.

"It'll be great to have you along."

 _'Did I say something wrong?'_

Raine chose that moment to speak up. "Personally, I'm fine with keeping her around. She's proven herself to be a great fighter." A muffled grunt was Kratos only reply. He was just going to have to deal with her being around.

With everything settled they confirmed the route they would be taking to Asgard once more and turned in for the night. As Neo drifted into dreams a question poked at her mind.

 _'What did they say to that dog faunus that got him so angry, anyways?'_

* * *

.

Sitting in the guest dorms in Beacon, 3 people started the process of deciding who would be worth 'shipping' into the world of Sylvarant.

"I think we should send that Pyrrha Nikos," suggested Mercury. "She has genuine talent, a powerful Semblance that can counter these ol' legs of mine, and a decent head on her shoulders. We don't want to be dealing with her while our plans are in motion."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "So she's a threat to _you_. Sorry, but we have to think bigger. What about Glynda Goodwitch, or Ozpin? With the headmaster gone the council puts some figurehead to be in charge and our job gets even easier."

"No."

Both of them shut up and turned their heads to look at their ringleader, Cinder.

"Ozpin and his ilk are fools, but they aren't blatantly blind. There's no realistic situation we could create that would actually force them into vanishing from this world, at least not without blowing our cover completely first." A small smile curled its way onto her lips.

"Our goal is to create suspicion among the nations. I propose we target the team leaders of the students; let's say, from Beacon and Shade. With the Vytal tournament just around the corner they'll believe that Atlas is willing to stoop to 'any military strategy' to win a tournament designed to represent the different cultures of the world. It'll make our later activities for the Atlas army even more convincing."

The younger members looked at each other and smirked. They had already figured out at least two of the students that would be exiting the stage.

* * *

 **Yay, we hit the big 1-0.**

 **But...these chapters are short... This isn't impressive, is it?**

 **Oh well. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm glad that I've gotten into a groove now. Please leave a review, and have a nice day.**


	11. Chapter 11- History

**This chapter will be the first real peek we get into Neo's past.**

 **Please enjoy.  
**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[Brackets are words written down.]

 **Disclaimer: I own neither property.**

* * *

Chapter 11 - History has a habit of repeating itself.

.

A pair of silver eyes flit back and forth between the blue eyes facing her and the game board sitting at the center of the table. Ruby and Jaune were caught in the final moves of what had been a very tense chess match. The phrase 'had been' was used because they were now just very, very tired. Jaune had won the first round in 13 moves, Ruby returning with a victory in 17 moves.

The tie-breaker, however, had now progressed to Crater face having only her King and a bishop, while Vomit Boy had only his King. It was her move, but at this point she didn't much care for dragging the game out any longer. So she 'accidentally' moved the bishop within the range of his king, and he smoothly captured the piece. Stalemate.

He chuckled. "No need to throw the win away, but thanks for the games anyways." They began putting the pieces away in their case, careful not to disturb the other people in the library who might actually be studying. Between the Breach incident and the Vytal tournament being delayed a week, the teachers had canceled classes for a few days to allow everybody to prepare for the tournament or just relax and work on papers.

The friendly leaders had taken to playing games together in the morning before lunch because the teams had their practices in the evenings. It helped that they were equal in most of the board games they had available.

As Ruby stood up to leave she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her head, she broke into a smile. "Oh, hi there Emerald! What brings you here?" Jaune leaned over to get a good look at the dark-skinned girl. He himself hadn't really gotten to know her, but team RWBY had frequent run-ins with her and Mercury.

"I was heading into town and was hoping I could find somebody to show me around. The last time Merc and I were there it was ki~nd of infested with Grimm, so it wasn't much of a shopping trip. Think the two of you could make good tour guides?" Ruby flicked her scroll open to look at the clock. "It's only ten, should be enough time to show you around at least. Jaune, feel like carrying some bags if Emerald decides to go crazy with the shopping?"

"Oh, like you aren't planning on visiting the parts store while we're down there. You were mumbling just yesterday about wanting to tinker with Crescent Rose." Ruby pointedly looked at the ceiling, not bothering to hide the cheeky smile on her face. "Fine, but you're paying for lunch. Just let me tell the team where what's going on in case we return late for practice."

Emerald kept a small smile on her face the entire time, but inwardly she was laughing at their naiveté. They couldn't have made things easier if they'd tried.

* * *

The morning sun broke into the women's room in the inn, threatening to wake everyone present. _'Jokes on you,'_ thought Neo, ' _I've been up long before you were.'_

The pint-sized warrior didn't usually have to combat insomnia, but that made dealing with it all that much harder. Especially when the few winks she did get were filled with memories of her older sister. She thought about her all the time, of course, but it had been quite a while since she'd lost a whole night of sleep.

 _'I wonder what brought this episode on.'_

Stretching a bit to shake off the lack of sleep, she reached into the group's travel bag and removed an apple gel. Apparently, this hand-sized substance could heal small wounds when eaten and even serve as a substantial food source when actual ingredients were scarce. But they weren't cheap, so travelers preferred cooking over relying on these for long trips. Cautiously, she removed the wrapping on it and nibbled at the edge.

It was sweet, but not overly so. It reminded her of jelly cups from convenience stores, and the thought of a snack like that having medicinal purposes made her inwardly giggle. At least it helped wake her up.

After the whole group managed to wake up (Genis apparently had to roll Lloyd off the bed onto the floor,) they got their belongings together and set off due south. But Neo's thoughts were occupied by the leader of their group, Colette, and how the false smile from last night seemed so... familiar.

An hour into the trek she began typing into her transmitter, trying to find the best way to approach the awkward topic with anyone in the group. The device, as it turned out, was solar-powered with a battery that could store up to 6 hours of energy as a backup (and even longer if one remembered to turn the device off when not in use.) She silently prayed that it would never break.

Satisfied with the topic starter, she tapped Lloyd on the shoulder and flashed the message at him. [This is going to seem strange, but does Colette have a tendency to cover things up?] He took a moment before answering. "Kind of, but why are you asking?" Good, he's willing to talk. As she started the next message she herself paused to think. Why was she pushing this? It'd only lead to them suspecting her intentions.

No, she had to figure out the truth. You can't do good work with an uneasy mind. She finished typing.

[When I said the bit about wanting to see how the journey would end, Colette looked sad before switching to a smile she seemed to think was reassuring.]

Lloyd's reaction was almost instantaneous. His hands closed into fists and he loudly whispered, "Damnit! So I wasn't imagining it." Neo leaned in, imploring him to continue with her eyes. "When she set off on this journey from Iselia, she deliberately told me the wrong time and had this letter written out for me. She's always done a fake smile and laugh when she lies, and she did that a lot before she left the village." Reaching into his bag he pulled out a small, folded note and handed it to Neo. It read,

[Dear Lloyd,

By the time you read this, I will have already left on my journey. I'm sorry for lying to you. The world regeneration journey is full of peril—many Chosens have failed. I care about you too deeply to let you get involved. I'm going to do my best to stop the monsters and the Desians, so I want you to live a happy and peaceful life in the regenerated world. Thank you so much for your friendship and kindness all these years. I'm really lucky to have met you.]

Neo felt herself beginning to pant. Now she knew why her sister had begun haunting her again. This was a goodbye letter, a Will almost. Written by somebody who knew they would never be coming back.

Colette's smile and her sister's became superimposed in her mind.

 _["You've been such a strong girl, Neo, and the best little sister anyone could have. But I need you to leave here. I talked to the owner of the hotel we used to stay at. He's agreed to take care of you as long as you work there doing the dishes. I'm sorry."_

 _\- Vanilla]_

* * *

 **Whew, managed to get this out pretty quickly.**

 **The pace is gonna slow down just a bit because I start work again tomorrow, but in the meantime please leave a review and have a nice day.  
**


	12. Chapter 12- Mission Start?

**A dozen cookies for a dozen chapters. Thanks again for looking in on my little project.**

 **The chapters after this one will be getting a little longer from here on out, by virtue of having more plot lines to follow. This one is still on the short side.  
**

 **Also, the poll is closed now. If you'd like to see the results check out my profile page.**

 _'apostrophe sentences are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: I own neither property.**

* * *

Chapter 12 - Mission start?

.

"You know Ruby, I never thought I'd say this, but you eat almost as much food as Nora. Any chance that you'll be finishing up with dessert soon?" Jaune could barely contain his mirth at the sight of his friend wolfing down her second serving of strawberry shortcake. They had chosen a well-known buffet in town for lunch, and Ruby was clearly determined to get her monies worth.

Emerald and Jaune had stopped at two plates, and the mint-haired woman couldn't believe it was taking so long to get the plan underway. Where the heck was Roman? He was supposed to-

*Honk honk*

Finally. Making an exaggerated arm gesture, she lazily read from her mental script. "Is that Roman Torchwick? When did he break out of prison?" On cue, the teens looked out the window to see the man in question sitting in a red sports car at the closest stop light. Ruby coughed down the bite she had in her mouth while Jaune whipped out his scroll to start calling Ren.

Unfortunately for them, this play required them to feel rushed. "Guys, why are you dawdling!? We need to chase after him now!" Emerald then ran full speed out of the restaurant towards the car, looking back to make sure they were following her. Roman, obeying the same script, began to race through traffic as fast as he could.

Ruby contemplated using her Semblance to land on the car and stop it, but doing that in this busy part of town would result in a multi-car wreck. It was better to avoid any collateral damage; The Breach had taught her that much. Instead, she pulled up her scroll like Jaune had and hit Yang's speed dial button. Hearing it go to voicemail, she yelled, "Yang, this is Ruby! We've spotted Roman Torchwick heading towards the warehouse district. Contact the professors and have everyone meet us down here. And keep your scroll near you, geez!"

The chase went on for a few minutes, Roman's car unable to make much headway in rush hour traffic. Jaune felt an odd sense of comfort that he hadn't run out of breath yet. All the training he'd done over the past few months was paying off, at least relative to his starting point. The way he saw it, the only saving grace about the current situation was that he and Ruby had the forethought to grab their weapons before they left the school. Emerald was grateful for that too, though not for the same reason he was; if these two had to stop and wait for the rocket lockers to show up it would also give time for backup to arrive.

Once they crossed the unmarked border between the shopping district and the warehouse district, all road and foot traffic aside from them seemed to vanish completely. Just as Ruby was about to kick her Semblance into gear Roman made a sharp left and entered into one of the lots. The three pursuers crouched behind a low wall and peered over to see Roman get out of the car and walk towards the rather large building, whistling as he spun his cane around in circles.

Ruby turned to the others and said, "Alright, this seems as good a place as any to wait for backup to arrive. Emerald, did you let your team know what's going on?"

Emerald only nodded in response. She was focusing intently, getting ready to channel her 'Illusion'. Looking up and down the street, she confirmed that there was no one on the street besides them.

 _'Time to finish the performance.'_

"Hey, what are you three doing here?" Jaune and Ruby spun around to see _hundreds_ of people standing behind them, all dressed in White Fang uniforms. The men began to raise their dust powered rifles. All three teens brought out their weapons and began to shuffle slowly towards the warehouse Roman just entered, as it was the only area not covered in white-garbed soldiers. Emerald tilted her heads towards the warehouse and yelled, "Move, now!"

As the trio raced towards the entrance the White Fang opened fire, peppering the ground at their feet with Dust bullets in a way that reminded Jaune of those Saturday morning cartoons. Except, you know, they might actually die here. Ruby and Jaune made it in, but just as Emerald was due to cross the threshold the door closed between them. At that moment all of the shooters simply vanished, no longer sustained by her Semblance. Holding her head to brace against the headache she knew was coming, she flicked open her scroll and sent Cinder a message.

[Ball's in Roman's court.]

Inside the building, the pair had tested the door and found that it was locked behind them with no visible means of opening it from the inside. Ruby again pulled out her scroll, only to see that she had absolutely no signal whatsoever. They took a moment to take in the scene, allowing their eyes to adjust to the darkness. The hallway they were in was extraordinarily slim, barely allowing them to stand side by side. There were no doors on the side walls, allowing only one way to progress down what seemed to be a short hall. It became painfully obvious to both of them that they had been led into a trap; but, sadly, they couldn't afford to just stay in the doorway.

So they walked for a minute, not saying a word as they braced for what was up ahead. Reaching the only door, Jaune took point so that his shield could take a hit instead of one of them. It was a sliding door, slipping to the left as he touched it. The room in front of them was pitch black. Ruby decided to make one more attempt at placing a call, but as she looked down she focused on not her scroll, but a small red jewel that seemed to be nailed into the floor between her feet.

"Jaune!"

But her call was too late as they found themselves launched sideways from the red dust explosion. Their Aura blocked the worst of the damage, but they still staggered to their feet as their ears rang from the blast. Someone seemed to be talking to them, but it was hard to make out the voice, ".So..fa..well...ed!" A strange blue hole opened up where they stood and they both dropped through it, screams filling the air until the portal closed behind them.

As the lights finally turned on in the warehouse, Roman could be seen holding his sides with restrained laughter. Near the machine guilty for the teenagers disappearance sat Griza, his head bowed down in shame. All his years spent researching new worlds, and it was being used as part of a plot by a gangster and his boss.

Roman practically skipped over to the weary man.

"Would you excuse me a sec? Kinda need to send a message to Neo." He obliged. Roman kept talking while he typed in the console, "You know, I love it when things are so easy. Now I just wish it could be for my own benefit instead of, you know, the promise of not dying." Griza could appreciate the sentiment, but he wasn't going to give the man the pleasure of a response. Taking a moment to survey the room, he noticed that the red-haired girl had lost her scroll in the blast, as it sat a few feet from where the children had been. Moving slowly, so as not to attract attention, he walked over and grabbed it, slipping it into his pocket and returning to his original position.

Griza may be a prisoner with his tools taken from him, but he would be damned if he was going to go down without fighting.

* * *

So as it turns out, the children of blacksmiths are apparently taught how to defuse bombs. Neo would have to ask Lloyd later how that particular skill had been learned.

After they made it to Asgard, Raine had insisted on visiting the stone dais that rest high up a hill in the mountainside town. Ruin mode activated. Neo had been taking in the scenery when a loud uproar began behind the worn-down stone. Two young men had apparently decided to plant a bomb in an attempt to destroy the stage before Raine and Lloyd intervened. Then the town mayor arrived and chastised the group at large, kicking them off the premises.

At the moment, Raine was almost pleading to be let back in to examine the stone. Neo felt a buzz from her pocket and pulled out the source, her transmitter. Flipping it open revealed a message reading,

[This is Roman. Two brats on the way. Going to be away from the doctor for a while, so we've left him with a few White Fang lackeys who know how to use that machine. They'll forward any messages you send to them. Queen Bitch has authorized you to order some supplies if you need them, though depending on what you need it may take time to prepare. At least we have plenty of Dust lol.]

 _'Time for me to carry out the secondary orders, huh?'_

The Chosen's group was all around her, so she was grateful for the Desian-centered strategy she came up with. At that moment the now familiar round portal opened above the stone dais in question, sending the locals into a frenzy. Something about angering the Summon Spirit of Wind further? Two human shapes dropped from the hole and hit it with an audible slam. She slipped through the small crowd to get a good look at her future victims...

...and face-palmed when she saw who it was: Little Red plus one. Who's great idea was it to send over people who could actually identify her!?

This job had just gotten even harder for her.

* * *

 **Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Please leave a review (because I actually like constructive criticism :p) and have a nice day.**


	13. Chapter 13- Aura Vs Exspheres

**This chap is pretty mouthy with explanations. Figured now is the time to clarify things.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: Neither property belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 13 - Aura vs. Exspheres

.

Lunchtime came and went, but Jaune never reported to the rest of team JNPR for their practice. Ren had a missed call on his scroll from the blond, but no voicemail had been left and any attempt to call back was met with 'I'm sorry, but your call cannot be completed as dialed'.

At two o' clock they made their way over to team RWBY's stomping ground in the practice arena, where they witnessed Blake and Yang trading blows at almost ludicrous speeds, blade clashing against gauntlet. Weiss was standing to the side, with a strained look on her face.

When she saw the trio approaching she called out to the combatants, "Alright you two, let's take a break. Thanks for helping me test my time dilation." She turned to face the others. "I wanted to see how well I can boost two people at once. It's difficult, and only works for short bursts. What's up?"

Ren responded, "Jaune hasn't showed up. You all were aware he was with Ruby today, yes? Has she called you?" Weiss and Blake pulled out their scrolls and checked, but Yang pat down all of her pockets without success.

"Where did it go? Uh, Weiss, could you call it? It must've fallen out." After a moment everyone heard a ring chime from the top of the stands. Yang jumped up, grabbed her scroll from it's resting place, and hopped back down. "Ah, I got a voicemail. Hold on a sec." She pressed a few buttons and put the scroll up to her ear, talking as she listened, "They were with Emerald, right? I wonder what's taking so..."

She stopped cold mid-sentence, face slowly shifting from confusion to anger, finally resting on determined. The scroll snapped shut and Yang's lilac-turned-red eyes faced the group at large. "Get Professor Ozpin. We're all heading downtown."

The first few things that Ruby registered as she stood up next to Jaune was that it was bright, it was windy, and it was getting loud. A crowd of people were gathered and staring at them, whispered words inaudible over the gusts. She leaned over and asked, "Hey, 'J'... do you know where we are? Or what's going on?"

Jaune shook his head. "I'm afraid not, 'R'. But whatever it is we're the center of attention." They looked around and took in the scene. They were standing on some stone platform, on some plateau, in some mountain range. Where the heck was this place?

Neo had a decision to make; mainly, how to approach them without blowing her cover with the group. She took a couple moments, hiding behind the crowd so she wouldn't be spotted early. That girl wasn't the dumbest of kids, so she would have to mix in some truth in with the lies. Nodding to herself, she broke through the crowd and presented herself to the two, Little Red immediately reaching for her weapon. Neo threw both her hands up in a 'Don't shoot' pose, stepping close enough for the girl to read her lips.

She mouthed 'We need to talk. Will you follow me?' Raine, who had followed Neo, crouched down and asked, "Do you know these two?" She received a 'kinda' hand waggle in response.

Ruby turned to Jaune. "You see the pink-and-brown haired one talking to us? That's the girl we saw helping Roman, and on the subway train during the Breach."

"What do you think we should do? I don't recognize anything around us, and..." He pulled out his scroll, "This thing isn't picking up even a hint of a signal tower. We obviously aren't in Vale anymore." They both paused, trying to soak everything in. "I vote we hear her out, but keep it at a public place. We just saw what happens when we go inside dark and creepy places." Ruby giggled at that. Together they stepped off the dais and approached Neo.

Lloyd chimed, "Looks like we're about to make more friends, guys," earning a grunt from Kratos.

-Later-

"So you guys really don't have Grimm here? That's crazy..."

They were seated in the lobby of an inn, and had just spent the better part of an hour assuring the new arrivals that, no, they weren't in Kansas anymore. They told them everything they had told Neo, who had remained silent to avoid providing the wrong piece of information; But, as was inevitable, Ruby finally turned to her and asked "So why would Roman send us here? Instead of, you know, killing us when he could?"

 _'Here comes the moment of truth.'_

[I don't know. My best guess is he just wanted you out of the way. I came to this world on accident, but decided to stay to help these guys "Regenerate" the world. I can reach Roman with this device I'm talking to you with. He didn't want to let me stay when he finally got in contact with me, but figured he might as well since it could mean new business opportunities.]

"You mean new people to steal from."

Neo shrugged. Genis chose that moment to put his two gald in, "Steal? Wait, your 'businessman' boss is some kind of thief?"

[He prefers 'opportunist', but yes. I'm sorry for glossing over it, but I figured you guys would leave me stuck if I told you the whole truth.]

An uncomfortable silence fell. The Sylvarant group looked at each other, wordlessly sharing their opinions with their body language. After a couple moments Colette spoke, "You've been nothing but helpful since we met. I want you to keep traveling with us."

Neo released the breath she had been holding. At least that was still happening. Kratos looked at Ruby and Jaune. "What will you two do? I'd rather not add more people to our group, but it sounds like Neo is your only way home." The words 'and you don't trust her' were left unsaid, but didn't have to be.

Ruby and Jaune began whispering, trying to determine the best course of action. Nodding, they both turned to Neo and Jaune asked, "What are the odds of you being able to get us home past Roman?"

 _'I don't plan to. Can't say that though.'_

[Better than the odds of you getting back without me.]

Ruby sighed. "Then we don't really have a choice. Can we go with you all until we sort this whole thing out?"

Raine responded, "That depends. You need to be able to protect Colette if you're going to join us. How well can you fight?"

Ruby's answer was a small smirk.

* * *

Now, Lloyd had never fought a scythe user before, and he had certainly never fought against a combination scythe/rifle. So imagine his surprise when Ruby managed to get her blade behind him and pulled the trigger, resulting in him being tripped and the handle of her weapon thrust into his neck.

"Alright, so you're good," he laughed. Their spar had lasted a few minutes, and every time he began to gain momentum she'd disappear in a flurry of rose petals, forcing him to guess where she would pop up. "How did you pull all that crazy stuff off? I've never seen anything like it."

"Oh, that's my Semblance." Lloyd tilted his head. "What in the world is that?" Ruby and Jaune looked at each other incredulously. What do they mean- oh, right, no Grimm to fight.

Neo held up her transmitter.

[I'm not explaining this to them.]

Shrugging, Jaune took that as his cue. "Let's start with Aura. Aura is an energy that flows through all living things. If someone unlocks their Aura, or has it unlocked for them like me, they can use it as a tool to fight monsters."

Genis raised his hand. "So it's like Mana?" "What's that?" The genius magician physically recoiled. "It's practically the source of all life. Not even water could exist without it."

Raine cut in here, "It would seem our worlds have different ways of manifesting what may to be the same core force. Please continue with your explanation."

Ruby nodded. "Aura first and foremost protects the user from damage, like a barrier, up to a certain point. But with training they can use it through their weapons and bodies to allow powerful strikes, large jumps, and, if they have discovered it, their Semblances." She paused, trying to phrase her next words.

"Semblances are... a unique power that belong to each person. Very rarely do two people have the same or similar semblances. My Semblance is my speed, a friend of mine has control over magnetism, the list goes on."

Lloyd asked, "So do a lot of people have the skill Ruby and Neo do?" Jaune hadn't fought yet. The blond responded, "Not really. It takes a long time and a lot of training to become a huntsman or huntress, and the natural danger of the job means it doesn't appeal to people without a calling to it. Ruby and I are students at a school called Beacon, built to train such warriors."

Lloyd took the Exsphere off his hand and examined it. "Neo once said that your world doesn't have Exspheres, but we practically need them to fight off monsters and the Desians, especially since it seems all of the latter use them. Just so you two know, these orbs help us be stronger, run faster, and things like that; but they don't let us do things we couldn't do before, and they certainly don't absorb damage."

Genis nodded. "The Exspheres help the magic my sis and I use, but we can use spells even without them. And if you try to use an Exsphere without a keycrest..." He trailed off, lost in thought. "It's bad. So the use of the spheres isn't widespread."

Colette seemed to have an idea. "You said that Aura could be unlocked, right?" The Remnant trio nodded. "What if you tried to unlock it in some of us? That way we could fight even better and make sure the journey goes well."

"That could work, Colette," mused Raine, "but we don't know for a fact that Mana and Aura are the same. If there is a biological difference between us we could be hurt."

Jaune followed with, "And unlocking someone's Aura isn't simple. The person doing it needs to be gifted at using their own Aura first and an incantation that... I can't remember."

Neo began to writing in her notebook about the comparisons. Even with the uncertainty it was still vital information.

Kratos brought the discussion to a close. "We can discuss this later. Right now we should focus on finding clues for the next seal."

"Yes, and we should start by investigating the events here," followed Raine. "With what seems to be the Summon Spirit of Wind demanding sacrifices. Those buffoons with the bomb might be a good place to start."

"I think you're just mad, Sis."

* * *

 **I hope that's a good reference point for the different abilities our characters.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a review, and have a nice day.**


	14. Chapter 14- Teamwork

**Managed to get this chapter out in good time. Kind of proud about that.**

 _'apostrophe italics are thoughts'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: Neither property belong to me. You would think I wouldn't have say this.**

* * *

Chapter 14 - Teamwork

.

"Remind me again why we're watching the professor dance on the stage?"

"Because, Lloyd, my Sis is stubborn."

[Am I really needed here for this?]

The group was currently standing a few feet from the stone platform in question, save Raine who was standing in the middle in rather interesting ritual attire. After they managed to locate the attempted Ruin destroyers, two young men named Harley and Linar, they found out that a large creature had appeared from the dais a few days prior, claiming to be the Summon Spirit of Wind and demanding a sacrifice for Linar waking it up on accident.

Good job, Linar.

In an attempt to prevent any casualties among the villagers (and study the platform first-hand), Raine offered to perform the ritual and discover the true nature of the being. She had begun the dance, moving between 4 marked points and hitting her staff firmly on each stop.

When she returned to the center and lay her head down, a large purple monster with wings and half-moon blade for it's feet appeared in a shimmer of light. It hovered a foot in front of Raine and spoke, "I have come for the girl."

Colette called out to Raine, "Professor, no! That is an evil creature, not the Summon Spirit of Wind!" The battle formation had been decided beforehand, just in case: Lloyd, Neo, and Kratos jumped on stage to defend the professor while Ruby and Genis got ready to provide rear support with their rifle and magic respectively. Jaune and Colette would jump in only as substitutes for the wounded.

Kratos raised his shield as the Windmaster flipped and swung its weapon down. Instead of bearing the full brunt of the attack the mercenary angled his shield to the right, causing the axe-blade to slide off and smack the platform. Lloyd and Neo jumped into the air, thrusting their swords straight into its chest. The monster took the blows with a loud screech, its voice creating a magic gale that began to cut their limbs. They retreated and Lloyd yelled, "Fire!"

The firing squad did as ordered, shooting a burst of bullets and actual fireballs. Each one hit the beast with great force, sending its whole body crashing to the floor. Lloyd and Kratos quickly placed the tips of their swords on the ground and, sending energy through their arms, created demon fang after demon fang. Their blades slid along the ground in a flurry, waves of energy slicing through the demon as if it were butter.

After a minute of dishing out the constant stream of attacks they relented, trying to see how much damage they had done. The Windmaster began to unsteadily raise its body, trying to orient itself. Just as it brought its full height to bare, however, a bolt of lightning came crashing down upon its head.

The beast simply stood still for a moment, and then, in the same shimmer of light it appeared in, began to dissipate. As it died a stone tablet dropped from its body, hitting the floor with a thud. Raine hurriedly ran over and picked it up, paying no mind to the floating demon corpse.

She brought the tablet over to fellow history buff Linar and they both began to squee over the 'ancient balacruf writing' and, with a promise to decipher it as soon as possible, ran off to Linar and his sister's house.

Harley walked over to the rest of the group and chuckled. "Those two are amazing in their own right. I don't think I'll ever understand these ruin geeks. Still, thanks for stopping that monster."

Genis puffed up his chest. "It was no problem. And I bet they'll figure out the truth in no time since my Sis is there." Harley nodded.

"Yep, we half-elves have to stick together." Genis flinched at that. "N-no, she and I are full elves."

"What are you talking about, you think I'd mistake my fellow kin?" Harley paused when he saw that Genis was pointedly eyeing the ground. "Actually, you're right. You are full-blooded, I must not have been paying attention."

Lloyd stepped close and he put his hand on Genis's shoulder. "Come on, we're all tired. Let's settle down at the inn."

-later-

After they worked out who was sleeping in which room, Ruby decided to step outside for a bit and look at the stars. Jaune, not wanting to leave her alone in this strange new place, offered to join her and she accepted. They sat on the small patio, and for several moments no words were said.

Finally Ruby spoke, saying, "The moon isn't in pieces. I guess we're just used to our moon and how it is, but there really is no bigger proof that we aren't in Remnant." Jaune stared at said crescent moon, mentally comparing it to the one on his shield.

He asked, "Do you think Emerald is alright?"

She pondered that question for a moment. "I hope so. If she got away from all those soldiers she could tell everyone where we disappeared. That'd make the return trip easier to plan." A smile rose on her lips. "Plus, in the meantime we can help out with the adventure these guys are on. A journey to regenerate the world sounds pretty awesome, don't you think?" Jaune laughed.

"Wanting to make not just your world a better place, but another world too? I'd say that's pretty ambitious." He pulled out Crocea Mars and examined it in the moonlight. "You helped me figure out what it means to be a leader, and Pyrrha's helped me out with my fighting skills, even if I'm nowhere near as good as her. Now, my main need is to get field experience to bring me up to where you and all the others are. I'm game."

Ruby jumped from her chair and beamed at him. "Sounds like we have a plan then. Here's to saving the world!" They high-fived and settled back into their chairs. "But really, I wonder how Yang and the rest are doing..."

* * *

Unfortunately, only professor Port was able to be reached. But once he heard there were possibly three missing students, the mustached man immediately called General Ironwood and requested that he send some troops to aid in their search.

They initially wanted to spread out fully for the search, but Ironwood refused saying, "If something has happened to your teammates, then you need to remain with my soldiers to prevent anybody else from being harmed." Two human troops each were assigned to teams RWBY and JNPR and they began from different sections of the warehouse district.

They started looking for any signs of activity while Zwei kept his nose to the ground for Ruby's scent. After an hour of searching the dog began barking furiously, spinning in circles in front of a particularly large building. The troopers radioed to their squad mates while Blake walked around the construct.

When she reported back she said, "Aside from the main entrance, there's a false wall in the back." She turned to the soldiers. "How do you want to do this?"

The leader responded, "We'll wait for the others to arrive. One team will enter through the front while the other breaches the rear." Nobody dissented, and JNPR arrived within ten minutes. They notified them of the plan and RWBY took the back door.

The false wall easily peeled away to reveal another door, much larger than the front. A tug at the handle revealed it was unlocked. The leader put his radio to his mouth.

"Commence breach in five...four...three...two...one... Go!"

Both teams burst in, J squad proceeding cautiously while R squad went in vigorously, daring someone to attack them. To the shock of everyone, however, the teams wound up in the same single room, completely devoid of people or machines. Zwei proceeded to sniff and bark at one corner of the empty complex, as if saying 'Ruby was here! I swear!'

Performing one more sweep of the building produced the same result: nothing. Yang could only throw up her hands and yell, "Where the hell are they?"

Her question was met silence...

...until her scroll began to buzz, with Ruby's contact ID pictured on the screen.

She frantically hit the 'answer' button and brought it up to ear. "Ruby, is that you!? Thank Oum you called, sis."

The line was silent for moment, and then a man's voice came though the scroll. "I'm sorry, but I am not Ruby. But I can help you find her."

Yang was about to yell back at him before she caught herself.

 _'Ruby is in danger and I don't know where she is. Gotta play this smart. I'll crush him later.'_

She put the call on speakerphone so everyone could hear and spoke as slow as her anger would allow, "What do you mean 'you can help me find her'?"

The voice responded, "The problem is I'm a captive myself. I can only use this scroll your... sister, you said? She dropped it when she got sent away and I picked it up. Help me escape, with my equipment, and we can get her back."

"But who are you?"

"My name is Griza. I'm a scientist..." He paused, some men audible in the background. After a moment he continued, "'The' scientist responsible for the disappearance of your friends."

* * *

 **Thank you for checking in again. Please, let me know how I'm doing, and have a nice day.**


	15. Chapter 15- Seeds

**The third chapter in as many days, to give you all some reading material for the next several days. Work and all that.  
**

 **I hope you enjoy the read.**

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts'_

[Brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: Neither property belongs to me.**

* * *

Chapter 15 - The Seeds of Discord and Chaos

.

Ozpin's office was rather packed at the moment. In it were the man himself, General Ironwood, Cinder, Mercury, and the remaining members of RWBY and JNPR. On Ozpin's desk lay Yang's scroll, the only link to the largely unknown figure 'Griza'.

Ironwood spoke to the Haven students, "In case you haven't been brought up to speed, your teammate Emerald was last seen with Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc downtown. An eyewitness identified all three running towards the warehouse district, and Ruby left a message saying they were chasing the escaped Roman Torchwick. A search led to one warehouse that has apparently been abandoned and has no known owner. A man calling himself Griza made contact with Ruby's scroll, stating that he knows how to reach them but needs to be rescued. Do you have any questions so far?"

Mercury raised a hand, "Yeah, who was in the search party? 'Cause it's pretty sneaky that we weren't contacted about this beforehand."

"Four of my soldiers and these two student teams."

"Uh-huh. So, what's the plan? What do we know about this mystery man?"

Ozpin spoke next. "We're waiting for information from Haven and Vacuo, as neither of us have heard of him before." A ring came from Ironwood's pockets. Ozpin smiled lightly, "Speak of the devil, it seems. James?"

Ironwood glanced at his scroll. "My contact in Vacuo." He put it up to his ear to listen, but as he did Cinder raised an objection. "Why, General, isn't this a conversation we are all privy to? More than one student is at risk, and from two countries as well."

"Careful, young woman. That almost sounded like a threat."

"I meant no such thing. My only concern is the safety of our friends."

Ironwood grunted, but did proceed to place his scroll on Ozpin's desk, effectively making it a public call. The face of an older white haired man appeared on a hologram. "Good to see you, James. It's too bad we never have actual social calls these days."

"I wish this could be one as well, Aaron, but three missing students dictate otherwise. What do you have on Griza?"

Aaron ruffled through a couple of documents before answering. "Griza Entrada. Forty-five. He was a researcher on our payroll before he was cut loose. I never bothered to inquire about his work before it became classified, but I heard a whisper about 'dimensional travel' being the subject. Whether it was or wasn't that, the upper ranks seemed to decide that supplying him with any more resources was a bad idea."

Ozpin began thinking out loud. "Possible worlds outside of Remnant. I can't say that it doesn't sound intriguing, but to achieve such travel would require something akin to a miracle."

The Vacuo man shrugged. "Can't say I know the science behind it. Anyways, he was last seen boarding a civilian airship to Vale. Maybe he kept up his work there, because that's all I've got on him."

"We appreciate the information, Aaron. Tell Jade I said hello."

"Will do. Goodbye, James."

The hologram blinked out. Pyrrha was the first to break the silence. "So the man with Ruby's scroll could actually know where she is?"

"Only if he is who he says he is, and only if his research was responsible for their disappearance," countered Ironwood. "For now, we should wait for his next contact. Yang Xiao Long, would you be okay with us placing a bug on your scroll for his next call? It will automatically record the conversation and relay it here, to Ozpin's desk for him to listen in.

"Go ahead. We need to find them as soon as we can."

"Thank you. In the meantime, everyone get some rest. And make sure this information doesn't leave this room, understood?"

A loud yes sound throughout the room, and Yang retrieved her scroll after the headmaster installed the aforementioned program.

As the student teams left the tower the sun was setting. Mercury turned to Yang and said, "Could you do us a favor, and actually keep us in the loop on this? Emerald gets on my nerves sometimes, but she's important to us."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. We were just in such a rush to get down there we weren't thinking right." She opened her scroll, a team picture on her home screen. "We will find them, and bring them back."

Saying goodbye, Mercury and Cinder walked off to the guest dorms. Mercury asked quietly, "So what should we do? Interfere?" Cinder contemplated the notion.

"No, we let this continue. When they don't find any of the dear darling students, we'll drop a hint to the media about all these mysterious happenings. Sow a little bit of that public distrust in the Atlas military. And besides, the virus we planted into the tower has managed to infect Ozpin's desk, so we will know everything that gets said in those calls." She laughed quietly. "I wonder how our little world traveler is doing?"

* * *

"So, Ruby, this scythe of yours is awesome! Are all weapons in your world like this?"

"Lots of them are, Lloyd, though Crescent Rose is my baby." Ruby brought her Precious into a snuggle. "Oh, you should see my uncle Qrows! It's a sword, scythe, and gun all-in-one."

"I want one! Man, I hope I can visit some day."

The group was on the road headed east, following a tip from the tablet that said the Balacruf Mausoleum was the Seal of Wind. Ruby and Lloyd continued their excited chatter while the others watched, amused at their antics.

As they approached a church-like building, a House of Salvation, Colette expressed her desire to stop there to pray. Nobody saw a reason not to, so they made their way inside.

When they got to the main statue they saw a purple-garbed woman, the same one from Ossa trail, with her head down. "...lla will suffer. Please, help me to save everyone."

Lloyd decided to speak up. "What are you praying for?"

"So that I can save everyone." Shocked, she spun around to face them. Lloyd chuckled.

"That's a nice thought."

"Shut up!"

Jaune leaned over to Genis and asked, "So, do you all know her?"

"Maaaaybe. She tried to kill Colette until she fell down a mine shaft."

"Huh. Awkward."

Lloyd continued. "My name's Lloyd. What's yours?"

The girl shook her head. "What?"

Colette followed with, "Ah, I'm Colette. I'm still inexperienced as a Chosen, but I promise I'll do my best and regenerate the world."

"I never asked for your names!"

"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry."

The purple woman seemed exasperated at this point. "I'm trying to kill you!"

"I know. But I'm sure if we just talk we can come to an understanding."

"Are you even listening to me!?"

Colette nodded, firmly. "I'm listening. But, um... Ms. Assassin..."

"It's Sheena!" She was yelling now. "Sheena Fujibayashi!"

"Sheena," said Colette, looking like she was writing the name into memory. "You were praying. Prayers make the heart grow. I pray, too. So I'm sure we can reach an understanding."

Sheena was clearly at a loss. "I...I was praying that I could kill you... Forget it, I've lost my concentration! You better be prepared for next time!" Throwing her hands down, a cloud of smoke quickly filled the room. As it cleared the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Ruby opened her mouth slowly and said, "I get that she's trying to kill you, or all of us. But I'm glad to finally meet someone as socially awkward as me." Once more Neo was forced to put her face into her palms.

 _'Oumdamnit, I shouldn't have to put up with this.'_

Kratos had a rare moment of agreeing with her, even if neither of them discussed it out loud.

Several hours later, they finally managed to reach the ruins in question. Unlike the fire seal, this one seemed to be entirely above ground. Raine stepped forward and placed the stone tablet from the Windmaster on the altar that was present, causing an Oracle stone to appear. Colette placed her hand on it and the the door to the mausoleum opened, inviting the Chosen to test her mettle.

Lloyd peered inside, and then turned to the rest of the group. "Are you all ready to go?" They nodded in response. It was time to release the next Seal.

* * *

 _'Don't have Grimm my foot, that was a colored Nevermore as far as I'm concerned.'_

They had just managed to defeat the Guardian of the Seal. As opposed to the Fire beast, which fought as a group of three, this creature fought alone. To their frustration, that meant that all of the Mana governing it's power was undivided, resulting in one super bird that took forever to have its wings clipped. Raine's magic healed many a wound this day.

As Colette approached the glowing platform, Neo got the attention of her fellow Remnant dwellers, showing them a message she typed. It was silly of her, and possibly inappropriate given her suspicions about the nature of becoming an Angel, but she had to act like nothing was wrong.

[Ready to see something cool?]

Ruby tilted her head. "Yeah, but cool in what way?"

Colette answered with a prayer. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant my thy strength!" Her wings appeared and she rose into the sky while a light descended from the heavens, revealing Remiel once again.

"You have done well, Chosen One, Colette. The second seal is now released."

"Thank you, Father." Jaune's jaw dropping was practically audible, while Ruby simply said, "Wait, what?"

"…Accept this blessing from Cruxis. I hereby grant you additional angelic power."

"...Father?" A trio of lights flew into Colette, making her glow for a moment before receding. "Father, have I done something to displease you?"

Remiel's smile was the definition of plastic. "…It matters not. All that is needed is for you to become an angel. I will be waiting for you at the next seal. Colette…my daughter. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me…" With a final flash of light he rose into the sky, leaving behind a slightly confused angel-to-be. She dropped down slowly and regrouped with them all.

Genis couldn't help but have an attitude. "What's up with him? He always talks like he's so important." Raine immediately rounded on him, slapping the back of his head with all her might. "Apologize to Colette!"

Colette herself simply shook her head. "It's okay, he... Remiel really does sound like that."

On that sour note they made their way back through the dungeon. But as they neared the entrance a voice cut them off. "Stop!"

"That voice..."

The assassin, Sheena, dropped in front of them. Next to her was an odd green creature that was floating off the ground, clearly some type of guardian for her. "This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard."

Colette was all smiles, of course. "Oh, you're here, too!"

"S-stop, don't move!"

"Now that we've finally become friends, why do we have to fight?" Colette was controlling the conversation and everyone knew it, Sheena included.

"Since when are we...I have no intention of befriending you! Prepare yourselves!"

* * *

 **Next comes Sheena vs. Neo and co., Assassins collide! It will be the first fight that I will be thorough on since...ever. I've never done a large fight scene. Now isn't this going to be interesting.  
**

 **Please stay tuned, leave a review, and have a nice day!**


	16. Chapter 16- Assassins and lies

**We've hit fifty followers! Thank you all for your support, and I hope you stay with me moving forward. It's gonna be a journey.**

 **To celebrate, here is the single largest chapter I've ever written... relatively.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: Percentage of stock owned? Zero.**

* * *

Chapter 16 - Assassins and Lies

.

Whatever Sheena's social problems may be, she wasn't stupid. She had a job to do, and she was outnumbered 8 to 2 in the process; So, she did the best thing she could for herself and made the environment her ally.

The hallways around the ambush point were thin, so between her and the Guardian she wouldn't be surrounded by enemies unless they were willing to endure friendly fire. If they retreated back into the dungeon for a better fighting ground they would have to deal not only with her but with the numerous spiked traps along the way. There was no way out but through her.

Neo was happy to oblige, of course.

Jaune fell into his tactician mindset while the others analyzed the scene. He whispered instructions as Sheena pulled a knife and a piece of paper from her sleeves, "Neo, Lloyd, get the girl. I'll handle the big thing. Ruby and Genis, take a shot only if you can avoid bringing the house down around us. Kratos, focus on guarding the backline."

Neo and Jaune dashed forward with weapons out to meet their respective foes, Lloyd only a few feet behind. Just as multi-colored hair was within reach of raven-locks Neo seemed to shimmer out of sight. Acting on instinct alone Sheena jumped straight up, parasol-blade stabbing through the air that would have been her back. Throwing the paper she held at Lloyd, she kicked off the wall at Neo. She didn't have to watch the tag to know that it had hit its mark, catching his left leg and stunning him until he dropped to the ground.

Her knife and Neo's sword clashed directly several times, each swing consistent in speed and power. They were testing each other, looking for openings that weren't there at first glance; though, one could suppose that's natural when both fighters have been trained in the art of death from the word 'go'. The schools were different but the mindset was the same: push the advantage you can get, but when you can't do that focus on keeping the fight even. Never overreach.

In Jaune's corner he was having an odd time of it. The Guardian didn't have a complex fighting style, only swiping its hands or diving with its beak. Every impact rocked the shield he held, but when he swung his sword in retaliation the impact... didn't feel right. There was less resistance then an animal hide or flesh should have. He backed up a moment to examine it more carefully. The bird-like creature had a wooden pinwheel of sorts on its back and no discernible feet. On each point of the wheel was a symbol he wasn't familiar with and in the middle of it was a rather large piece of paper.

Deciding to trust in his teammates, he blocked the next swipe and shoved his shield upward, sending the Guardian lightly into the air from the recoil. Taking a chance he performed a powerslide and quickly stood on the opposite side with his sword swinging, forcing the creature to turn around to counter him.

 _Bang!_

The bird-beast howled in pain as it took a bullet to the mask (that he hadn't seen) on its back, and for the first time the Guardian looked, well, solid. Jaune promptly swung several more times, each swipe finally dealing the damage he'd been looking for. With a battle cry he brought the thrust his sword into the tag and with a loud 'Poof' it vanished into smoke, leaving only the split paper. When he cast a quick eye to the shooter she gave a thumbs up in response.

 _'Good ol' Ruby. Definitely glad she came here with me, even if it does mean we both have to find our way back.'  
_

Flash back to Neo, and she was willing to admit the purple-garbed killer was good. Their attacks had both become more aggressive in nature, mixing up their weapon strikes with punches and kicks. Sheena had attempted to slip past her and now sported a bruise on her face from the particularly painful somersault kick Neo intercepted with, while the latter had a shallow cut that ran up the length of her right leg, courtesy of the former throwing her first knife straight at her and revealing a second to fight with.

Raine spoke softly into Ruby's ear, "What are the odds of you getting a shot at that Sheena girl?"

"Not that good since they keep switching positions," she responded, frowning. "I'm treating this like I would with my own team, and I know that I wouldn't take the shot if it meant hurting one of them."

Lloyd, leg still paralyzed from the tag, had managed to crawl back to the group. "Do you all want to trust Neo with this, then? Those papers are something else, so maybe we'd just get in the way."

They didn't like the thought, but what could they do?

Suddenly, Colette spread her wings and placed her hands together, gathering energy as she did so. "Holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory." She looked up to confirm her target. "Angel Feathers!" Three rings of light shot from her wings at high speed, heading straight for the dueling pair.

Neo, seeing the holy chakrams approaching from the direction of Sheena's back, promptly disengaged and dropped into a low crouch. Sheena spun to deal with the new threat and Neo took the opportunity to sweep her feet out from under her. As the assassin fell the rings reached her and all three struck her torso but, probably intentional on Colette's part, only skimmed her body instead of piercing it directly. The attack faded into pink feathers, the same as her wings.

The group approached Sheena as she did her best to stand up, Neo standing next to her with her sword at the back of the would-be killer's throat. To her credit she didn't seem to be making another move towards Colette. "Why...Why can't I win?"

"Goodness and Love will always win!"

"Genis, please," pleaded Lloyd, "don't bring up that stupid Dwarven Vow."

"'Goodness'? What do you mean, 'Goodness'?! If you're good, I'm good as well!"

"Not you, too! Everyone, please stop saying corny things!"

All the Remnant dwellers felt their heads tip to the side. What the heck was a Dwarven Vow?

"What do you know?! When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't... I can't let that happen!"

This made the Angel's head pull back for a moment. "Wait, what are you talking about? If I regenerate the world, everyone will be saved...right?"

Sheena shook her head furiously. "This world will be saved!"

That one sentence took the wind out of everyone present. Was this girl from...

Before their breaths came back Sheena took the chance to book it out of the ruins, leaving behind a stunned group. Raine managed to gather herself first, "Stop! Who are you!?" Only silence answered her.

Lloyd turned to the three that weren't of this world. "What's up with that? Do you two know people like her in your world?"

Ruby was the first to respond. "Not at all, and I can't think of why you all saving this world would put Remnant in danger."

"OW!"

Everyone spun to the source of the noise, Colette collapsed on the ground. Lloyd and Raine immediately made to help her up as Kratos commented, "She didn't receive any wounds, so this must be the angel powers at work again."

"Again?" Jaune seemed confused. "Did this happen at the last seal you broke?"

Raine answered, "Yes. For the time being, I've decided to call it Angel Toxicosis. We need to let her rest, outside of these ruins." And so the group made to get out of the mausoleum and set up camp. All the way down the halls Colette kept saying 'I'm sorry, it'll go away soon' over and over...

...and for the second time this trip, Neo felt her heart aching.

-later-

The group was situated around the campfire. Ruby, Jaune, and the Sage siblings were asleep with their heads on their travel bags. Kratos and Neo were working the night watch, and Colette was standing under a tree that was situated a bit away from the camp. Lloyd, who had just woken up, walked over to her. "

"Colette, you're still up?"

"Hehe... I couldn't sleep."

"You may be feeling better now, but you still need to rest."

"I know. I'll go to sleep soon, I promise."

Lloyd was unconvinced. "But still..."

Colette just smiled. "I'll come back there soon, Lloyd."

"Ok, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

As Lloyd went to rejoin the herd he saw Neo headed their way. "Hey, what's up?" The only response he got was her slipping something into his hands and walking past him to Colette. Lifting the object he was surprised to see one of the now outclassed note cards Neo had been using to write on.

[Stay within hearing range.]

Colette's voice was chipper as she began to talk. "Hey, Neo. The way you fought earlier was amazing!"

[Thanks. But are you sure you're feeling better?]

"Yep! I'm all set and ready to go for tomorrow." Neo stared at her for a moment. "What's wrong?

The typing was slow, Neo having trouble with her words. After a moment Neo decided to take the semi-direct approach.

[It's just that you remind me of my sister.]

"You have a sister?"

[Had. An older sister. But it's thanks to everything she did to raise me that I'm alive.]

Colette flinched. "I'm... sorry to hear that she's gone. If I may ask, how do I remind you of her?"

Neo took a deep breath before answering. [She marched straight to her death with a smile on her face.]

As Colette read the message she visibly stopped breathing before catching herself and bringing the smile back onto her face, considerably more forced. "Silly, I'm okay! Look, see?" She twirled in an attempt to prove her point. Neo simply gazed straight into her eyes and the angel faltered."Really, Neo, I'm fine."

[Lloyd showed me the letter you wrote him. When you told him the wrong departure time on purpose.]

"...!" The pressure was on now.

[Colette, what does it really mean become an Angel?]

Lloyd chose this moment to return and speak, "I noticed that you haven't eaten anything since the fire seal. Is this journey... Changing your body that much?"

A moment passed.

Then another...

...and another. Finally, Colette sighed. "Please don't tell the others. I don't want them to worry over me too much."

"But what's happening?"

She shook her head. "I don't know exactly. I just haven't been hungry since I first got my wings. And after I got over the pain today I can't seem to go to sleep." A pause. "I guess angels don't need those things."

Lloyd pulled her into a hug, her head resting on his shoulder. "Of course we'd worry about you. You're our friend. And Neo was the first to catch that something was wrong." He flashed Neo a smile. "So talk to us, okay Colette? Promise us you will."

Colette nodded. "Okay. But don't tell the others yet. I'll tell them... when I can." Neo put her hands on both of their shoulders in a silent agreement.

The next morning arrived and they made their way to Hakonesia Peak to cross into the Palmocosta continent. As they reached the gate they saw two armored soldiers blocking the path. One spoke up.

"Stop. Do you have a road pass?" The group all looked at each other before shaking their collective heads. "You cannot proceed without a pass. I'm sorry."

They stepped away and pulled out the world map. After analyzing it Kratos said, "This is troublesome. The only other way is a ship from Izoold, and they've already refused to transport us because of the monsters at sea this season."

Ruby asked, "Are there no airships in this world?" The Sylvaranteans stared at her. "Guess not. This mountain looks pretty large on the map, so crossing anywhere but the road could be bad. Any ideas?"

The silence was broken by the sound of Neo typing into the transmitter.

[I think I have one. Remember when I said I was still in contact with Roman?]

"Yeah?"

[I wonder if we can borrow an airship from home?]

* * *

 **Better an airship than swimming, I suppose.  
**

 **I hope you you've enjoyed the story up to this point. Have a wonderful day!**


	17. Chapter 17- Hitchhikers

**Not much to report.**

 **So...**

 **Roll tape!**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts'_

[brackets are words written down]

Disclaimer: Neither property yadda yadda yadda

* * *

Chapter 17 - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Multiverse.

.

There was a strong wind as Yang walked through the snow-covered forest. Her feet walked unceasingly in the night, on a path her mind didn't remember, couldn't remember.

Couldn't? No, she knew this path, this ambience. She just didn't _want_ to.

As she approached a clearing, she noted that there was something unfamiliar there. On the edge of the cliff was supposed to be one tombstone, her mother's. Well, Ruby's mom. But next to that stood another stone, covered completely in snow.

She looked at Summer's epitaph and it said just what it always had, 'Thus kindly I scatter.'

Crouching, she wiped off the lower section of the unknown stone. A sentence slowly came into view, 'The gathered petals have wilted.'

Breathing heavier now, she shoved off the rest snow in a hurry. But as the name appeared she fell backwards into the snow, and it was only after a moment that she found the air to scream.

"No! NOOO!" Her screams reverberated throughout the clearing, threatening to destroy the forest with her despair.

'Ruby Rose'

Yang looked into the sky over the cliff and saw two cloaked figures floating, one in white and another in red. Both figures turned away from her and began walking through the air into nothingness.

"Mom? Ruby!? Please, wait!" Her hand stretched out ever so slowly. "Don't go!"

Just as they began to fade Yang's vision began to focus, and then she was back in her dorm bed, hand outstretched for people who weren't there. It took her a moment to realize that what woke her up was her scroll ringing.

Hastily reaching to pick it up, she was at once relieved and annoyed to see not Ruby's number, but her father. Answering it, she spoke slowly in an attempt to keep her voice even, "Hey, dad. What's up?"

Taiyang was silent for a moment. Then, "Ozpin told Qrow and I what happened."

"Blunt at always, dad." But the familiarity put her more at ease. "How are you holding up?"

"About as well as I can, given everything. You?"

 _'Having nightmares.'_ "Could be worse, in some ways. Aren't you in the middle of a mission?"

"Yep, and can't get out. So I wanted to make this call while I could. Thankfully, Qrow should be arriving by tomorrow if not this evening."

"That'll be good." She glanced at the time. "7 o'clock. Too late to go back to bed, too early to be up. My team isn't here so I guess they're at breakfast."

"You make sure to eat, too. You aren't useful to anybody starving."

Yang rolled the eyes he couldn't see. "I'll drink my milk, too."

"You aren't too old to spank yet, you know."

"Maybe, but do you really wanna try?"

They shared a laugh at that thought, then a beat passed with no sound. Yang knew what line he was about to say and she considered stopping him, but Tai needed to say it as much as he needed to hear it.

"Yang, Ruby will be alright."

"I know."

After getting dressed and brushing her hair (which takes a while,) Yang went to the cafeteria to eat and settle her heart.

 _'The gathered petals have wilted? I know it was just a bad dream, but damn isn't that going a little too far, brain of mine?'_

Entering the chow hall she saw the now familiar sight of RWBY and JNPR sitting together, minus two people. She grabbed herself a tray and plopped down on a chair, examining them all as she did so.

Weiss was pensive, Blake brooding, Nora was making unsuccessful attempts at cheering everyone up, and Ren was... Ren.

When she got a good look at Pyrhha, though, it was like looking in a mirror. The champion's green eyes had heavy bags under them, and Yang was pretty sure that she had cried herself to sleep like she had. Yang felt like she was at a loss...

...and then she had an idea. Or at least, a conversation starter.

"So guys, something crossed my mind just now." The group turned towards her. "That scientist was supposedly working on going to other worlds, right? What type of place do you think they may have gone?"

Nora, grateful for the assist, was first to jump on the topic. "Ooh, maybe it's a world like X-ray and Vav! Interstellar travel, saving the galaxy from terrible threats. That would be amazing!"

It had worked! Everyone had finally been brought out of their own minds and seemed to be thinking of the possibilities. Blake tossed out, "What if it's a more fantasy like world, with classic dragons kidnapping the princess?"

Weiss had to scoff at that. "Making Jaune and Ruby the heroes protecting the kingdom." She placed her hands together, mimicking the 'princess in the window' pose. "Oh Sir Jaune, whenever shall you come to rescue me?" That got a few chuckles.

Ren was practical as always, "The different environment would mean the presence of currently unknown flora and herbs."

"Or maybe," said Yang, looking Phyrra straight in the eyes, "it's a world where a guy like Jaune wearing a dress to a dance is perfectly normal."

For the first time in two days the red-head found herself shaking with laughter, the memory of dancing with him overcoming her depression. The group basked in the moment, happy to be at least temporarily rid of their worries.

After managing to collect herself Phyrra seemed more at peace. "Well, wherever they are, I'm sure they've managed to make new friends."

* * *

Jaune and Ruby raised their eyebrows at Neo's suggestion. When the thief stared blankly back at them Jaune asked, "I'm not saying I doubt you, but wasn't the hole, portal, whatever it was pretty small? Pretty sure an airship won't fit through there."

[I can at least ask. It might have only been that small because it didn't need to be any bigger for just people.]

Raine was intrigued by the conversation. "That's twice now you've said 'airship'. Does your world really have crafts capable of flight?"

"Sure do, with several different models and sizes depending on your needs. Now they are expensive, so it's pretty rare for private citizens to have them. But when your boss is a professional thief..." Ruby tapered off at the end of the sentence. Lloyd and Colette both seemed to deflate at the thought of needing something to be stolen to continue their journey. Neo moved to intercept.

[Roman and his group already have several that belong to them.] Well, now they did. [They won't have to break any laws to get us a transport. But it probably will take a bit to get it ready.]

Lloyd asked the group at large, "Any objections to us relying on Neo's connections?" Genis raised his hand.

"It's not a objection. But I do have a request." Neo tilted her head to show she was listening. "Since you three are learning so much about our world, why not have your people send over some textbooks or something so we can learn about yours?"

Before Neo could answer, Raine was suddenly in her face. "Yes! The history, Aura, that 'Dust' you mentioned before. Have your men pass along knowledge!" Frightened by her energy, Neo could only nod in acknowledgement.

Jaune leaned over to Ruby and whispered, "I suddenly feel bad for her."

"Me, too, but I'm about to add to the shopping list."

After spending several minutes trying to slim down what things to ask for, she composed a message for her allies in Remnant.

[This is a supply and aid request. I need a medium sized airship for transportation, preferably armed. Take the time you need to prepare it properly. I also need the following items, as available:

Sniper rifle rounds

Textbooks on Aura, Dust, Architecture, and global history.

Portable charging tank for a scroll.

Please let me know how long it will take to ready these. Thank you.]

With a press of a button it was sent. She then typed out another message, this time for the group.

[Done, waiting for them to respond now. What are we going to do in the meantime?]

Kratos had an idea. "Perhaps we could go to Asgard or Luin and spend the time training? It would be prudent in case the Seal guardians become more powerful, like the Wind guardian was."

Colette clapped her hands. "I vote for Luin, it's such a pretty town. Jaune, Ruby, you two would love it." They smiled and nodded back.

They wouldn't reach Luin until tomorrow, but they set out north to make the progress they could. An hour into the trek Neo's transmitter dinged.

[The rifle rounds, charger, and books can be sent tomorrow afternoon. The requested transport will be ready in three or four days.]

She flashed the message for them to read. Their plans now firmly established, they walked the path to the City of Water.

* * *

"Lord Forcystus, there are three humans standing at the gate. The gate guard reported that they are requesting to speak with you."

The Grand Cardinal in charge of the Iselia region scoffed. He pressed a couple buttons on his computer and examined the feed he saw on the gate cameras. As advertised, three people stood patiently at the front entrance. The one that seemed to be in charge was wearing a red dress with gold embroidery.

"These humans just don't understand what 'non-aggression treaty' means. Kill them."

"Yes sir!"

Putting the fools out of his mind, he refocused on the images of Lloyd Irving and the Chosen's group. Scouts reported them entering the Asgard region under Kvar's jurisdiction.

It was a shame, really. He wanted to be the one who recovered the Angelus Project for Lord Yggdrassil, but he doubted Kvar would let it slip from-

 _Boom!_

He was literally shaken from his thoughts as he felt an explosion rock the building in which he stood. Pulling up the gate feed once more, he was stunned to see the three intruders not only holding their own against his men, but destroying them with ease. Any soldier that wasn't struck down by the black-haired woman's fire or arrows was stabbed or crushed by her companions.

He quickly activated the intercom system installed in the complex and called out, "Cease fire! Stop attacking!"

His men, the ones were still alive that is, promptly retreated. The humans did not pursue, returning to their patient wait. He ran at full speed, and as he made it outside the leader turned to him and simply... smiled.

"You must be the leader the 'Desians' in this area. It's a pleasure to meet you."

As he looked into her amber eyes he almost felt cold. She was viewing him as a tool for her to use. "Who are you?"

"My name is Cinder. I believe we have many things to discuss."

* * *

 **Next chapter will feature Cinder a bit as she digs for information.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review, and have a nice day.  
**


	18. Chapter 18- Threat

**So I seem to have found my little routine to help keep this story going at a decent pace. I write the bulk of it on the site app while at work, and then finish up with the formatting when I get home.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the shirt on my back.

* * *

Chapter 18 - Threat level: Yellow

.

Forcystus, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were sitting together in a meeting room after that rather grand introduction. The bodies of his men had been gathered and set aside for future burial.

Thirty-one of his kin had been killed in less than a minute. The power that these humans wielded was unreal.

And they had just told him something unbelievable.

"You say that you're from another world? Don't be preposterous."

Cinder was professional in her tone. "But I assure you it's true. Before one of my associates came to this dimension, I had never heard of things like the Chosen or the Desians. After we are done here I would be more than glad to show you, but first I have a question or two."

He gave a snort, but motioned for her to continue.

"About the relation between your group and the Chosen's journey. The Chosen herself told my ally that the journey of regeneration is a task to restore Mana to this world and, if and when she succeeds, you Desians disappear as the world is restored. But the more thought I thought about it, the more I realized it doesn't make sense; however, I couldn't put my finger on why."

She spoke slowly, gauging his reactions to see if her words were hitting their mark. "Then my dear Emerald here had an idea," she nodded to the green-haired girl beside her, whose chest puffed up with pride. "The Desians could leave the reborn world if they had another place to travel to, a world whose fate is somehow tied to that of Sylvarant." Forcystus flinched involuntarily, and Cinder smiled at knowing she had hit the nail on the head. He gave a sigh before he responded.

"So you can think outside the box to reach an answer many others fail to see. Congratulations. How does any of this affect you, or explain why you're here?"

"As you say, none of this inherently matters to us. We also do not know the purpose of your organization; however, I believe that we could enter into a mutually beneficial relationship. It is for that reason I would like to request that you put us into contact with the true leader of your group."

He leaned back in thought. He loathed the very thought of trusting a human's words, but the fact remained that she could lay waste to them all if led to. After weighing his words he said, "Before I even think of contacting my Lord for you, you need to prove your words about being from another dimension."

"Of course. The burden of proof is on us, after all."

"But," he continued, "while we are talking about building a mutual relationship, I will need a... professional favor."

"Oh?" Cinder arched an eyebrow.

"You said that you have someone relating to the Chosen's group, yes? Are they still in contact with them?"

"Yes, she is traveling with them as we speak."

"I see. In that case, I need her to retrieve something for me."

* * *

The smell of coffee permeated Ozpin's office as usual, but the man in question couldn't bring himself to actually drink from his mug. Everything from the past week was eating him, from the missing students to the Atlas army in his kingdom.

He looked out of his window with a sigh. A large number of airships were patrolling the sky, as if daring the Grimm to attack. James was a dear friend, but at times he could be obstinate to the nth degree. He couldn't see that the size of the army was scaring the citizens, rather than comforting them.

His attention was brought back into the office by the sound of the elevator door opening and he turned to look at the one who entered. To his pleasant surprise it was Qrow, permanent stubble on his face and all.

"Managed to get the earliest flight here, I see. Ms. Xiao Long will be grateful you got here so quickly."

The grizzled man gave a short laugh.

"That niece of mine is made of tough stuff. She'd be okay as long as her friends stuck by her. Which they will, from what I've heard about them." He sat in one of the guest chairs and sighed. "How did this happen, Oz?"

"I'm afraid I don't know anything more than what I told you on the phone. We're waiting for this Griza to contact Yang again. Anything he says or sends will be played through this desk here. I gave the miss a short list of questions she should ask him to obtain as much information as we can."

"We sure he'll call again?"

"Not really, but it's all we have to go on. I'm glad you could make it here before the situation changed any more."

The room was silent for a moment. Qrow seemed to be letting it all sink in. "Does the public know about this?"

Ozpin shook his head. "But I fear they will find out about it before we can resolve it. And if they do..."

Panic would set in, inviting the Grimm. They both knew this without it being said.

Their conversation was interrupted by an alert coming through the table. Ozpin pressed his control module and two static images appeared, representing Yang and Ruby's scrolls. The two men met each others eyes and nodded. They both began to listen as the call was answered.

They heard the voice of Yang first. "You sure took a while to call."

"Sorry, but I need to make sure nobody finds out I'm making these attempts to reach out."

"And I should believe you because...?"

"You probably can't. But you need to. I never wanted any of this to happen."

"First, tell me everything you know about and saw that day."

"Unfortunately, I don't know every detail. But I do know that the students were led to the warehouse on purpose by Roman Torchwick. When they entered the room my machine was in, Roman had me send them to the other world."

"What kind of world is it?"

"I haven't been there myself, but I do know that they call the planet 'Sylvarant'. It doesn't seem to be unusual in regards to the seasons or the lifeforms that call it home, but I was shocked when I found that there are no Grimm there whatsoever."

His words hit Ozpin and Qrow hard. Such a place exists?

Yang's voice betrayed the same thoughts. "No Grimm? You're telling me that there is a world without monsters?"

"Oh there are monsters in that world, certainly, but they aren't people-hating abominations against nature. Before I was kidnapped, my source said that most monsters were territorial and only invaded towns when there was a lack of food for some reason. Otherwise, they would stay clear of human settlements."

"So Roman and the White Fang send three students to another world in order to do what?"

Griza paused before answering. "Three students? I only saw two. The girl in red and a blond boy." Qrow drew back at this news, but didn't say anything yet. Ozpin kept a calm facade, though only to ensure he missed none of the following words.

Yang seemed not to dwell on it, however, because she moved on. "Tell me about the machine that allows all of this."

"Ah, now that is something I can elaborate on. I started by examining the theory of-"

"Doc, you could be discovered talking to me at any minute. Short version, please."

"Oh, right." His voice sounded deflated. "Well, basically, it rips holes into the fabric of space and time to connect point A to point B. It can be powered by electricity or Dust. The two points can be anywhere as long as one of them is relatively close to the machine itself."

"Huh. Did you ever think about getting into time travel?"

"Yes, actually, but I believe there are any number of movies that explain what can go wrong with that."

"Right, right, the whole 'accidentally not existing' part." They shared a chuckle at that. It amused Ozpin that the girl could find humor at a time like this.

Griza seemed to think so, too, because he said, "Someone will be coming soon, so I need to hang up. But you have been most amicable."

"Yeah, well, you seem like a decent enough guy. If we find Ruby safely this will all be water under their bridge. If she gets hurt because of you, then I'll just break you next possible chance I get."

Qrow laughed out loud as the call disconnected. "That's my Yang for you, she takes the hit and rolls with it. We also got some good information from all that, even if none of it points to where he and that machine actually are."

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, she performed admirably. However, the MIA Haven student, Emerald, concerns me. Either the White Fang harmed her in some other way, or..."

"She was involved in it," Qrow finished. "That should be worth investigating. After I catch up with Yang I'll look into it." As he walked towards the elevator he stopped and looked at the headmaster one more time. "How's Autumn's condition?"

"Same as before, I'm afraid. I still don't want to resort to our risky idea, but recent events seem to be urging it forward."

"And the candidate you chose?"

"...Let's discuss this later, Qrow. We should focus on what we can."

* * *

"Genis, let me just say that if you decide cook professionally, I'll tell my friend Weiss she should hire you as her personal chef."

"Nah, it's more of a hobby than a career, but thanks for saying that."

The group had settled down for the night, not too far away from Luin. They sat around the campfire as the happy food coma began.

Lloyd said, "Ruby, did Jaune really wear a dress like you mentioned earlier?"

"Yep! We had a little prom dance going on. One moment he's in a normal tux, the next he's in a short little white dress."

The boy in question blushed but didn't shy away. "I made a promise, even if it had been a joke at first. I told my friend that if she didn't have a date to the dance I'd wear a dress. She didn't, and an Arc never goes back on their word."

"Well I think that was very manly of you, Jaune," said Raine even as she laughed. "I trust you didn't make your own date look bad in comparison?"

"I didn't have a date either, so there was no one to make jealous once we started dancing."

Ruby interjected, "Maybe, but I still think if Weiss had known you could dance so well she wouldn't have shot you down. Neptune was embarrassing just to watch."

Colette seemed surprised. "You asked her teammate out to the dance?"

"Yeah, though most of my attempts came off pretty silly. Once we got to the dance I just made sure that she and guy she did like had a good time."

Jaune pulled out his scroll and started showing them pictures. "This is Ruby's team. That's Yang and Blake, and the girl in white is Weiss." He swiped his finger across to look for team SSSN. "See the guy with the blue hair? That's Neptune. Weiss asked them out herself."

Lloyd looked the pictures over while he asked, "Out of curiosity, what made you like her enough to ask her to the dance?"

Jaune took a moment before answering. "The thing is, now that I'm looking at it in hindsight, I figured out it was more of a crush than anything. Don't get me wrong, Weiss is still a great catch for any guy; but there was never a real... connection, I guess. So now I'm taking some time to think about what I actually want in a girl."

Ruby had a cheeky smirk on her face. "Yeah, Jaune's come a long way from the guy who threw up from motion sickness on the ride to school."

"Says the girl who caused an explosion with a sneeze."

"That was Weiss's fault!"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Rubes."

Even Neo chuckled as Ruby gave him a playful shove. But her attention was taken by the sound of her transmitter dinging again. Confused, she read it without letting the others know.

[New mission objective: Obtain Lloyd Irving's Exsphere.]

* * *

Things are happening! But let us watch and see what unfolds.

Please leave a review. But whether you do or don't, do have a nice day.


	19. Chapter 19- Conflict

**All Neo and Co. this chapter. Cinder and Yang will come back to play in 20.  
**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 19 - Conflict

.

Lloyd's Exsphere? Was there something unique about it?

While everyone else continued chatting she began to compare the Exspheres that were visible; the ones belonging to Kratos, Genis, and Lloyd.

The first two were a sapphire blue, reminding Neo of a rolling ocean. Lloyd's, however, had a strong tint of green, almost like an emerald. She decided to focus on that for now.

Moving closer to his spot around the fire, she tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

[Your Exsphere seems a little different than the others. Is it special?]

Lloyd brought his left hand up to examine it. "Yeah, Kratos noticed the same thing. I don't understand what makes it so special, but," his hand closed into a fist, "my mother left this for me when she died. According to my dad, the Desians chased her down for it. She gave both it and me to my father on her death bed, and after the Desians near Iselia saw it they said that as long as I have this they would always come after me."

Silence hung in the air. It was a considerably heavier answer than Neo had anticipated, and it was clear that nobody knew how to follow that. After a moment she typed again.

[Is revenge why you joined Colette on her journey?]

"Yes, but that's only part of the reason. You see... Genis and I messed up pretty bad, and our actions caused the Desians to attack our town." Genis now had his head down, his face hidden by his arms. "After they left the mayor banished both of us, and we decided to help regenerate the world to... atone for what we did."

Colette was the only one to speak up. "Lloyd, everyone, we will succeed. I know it in my heart."

The mood now sufficiently dark, they turned in for the night. Neo and Colette took the first night watch, which worked for her because it meant she could organize her thoughts.

 _'The Desians are after his Exsphere for a reason only they understand. Somebody, presumably Cinder, knew to ask for that Exsphere specifically. So I can assume that she has gotten in contact with them and offered her 'help.' But... if they took her up on the offer to do something for them, wouldn't the Desians ask for us to stop the Chosen's group entirely? The Journey of Regeneration is at least half done to get rid of the Desians, after all.'_

She was missing vital information. Someone, somewhere was pulling a string that she couldn't see.

She was surprised to hear Colette approaching her post, so she turned to the angel and tilted her head as a silent question.

"Neo, can we talk for a little bit?" She nodded in response and pat the ground next to her in an invitation to sit. "Thanks. You and Lloyd said that I can talk to you about what's happening to me, so I want to tell you something else that changed when I first got my wings."

Colette paused before continuing, as if she was unsure of exactly what to say. Neo waited patiently for her to keep going. "After I released the first Seal, some of my senses got better than they were before. I can see a lot farther into the distance, and my hearing is so good that... it can hurt sometimes."

The assassin could understand that. Even with better ears, the human body was used only to handling so many decibels at once before hearing damage occurred. If you layered the volume of what you heard on top of itself constantly, headaches might be the least of your concerns.

But Neo was not prepared for what followed in the conversation.

"What I'm trying to say is... when that woman in the red dress showed up to talk to you in Luin... I heard everything she said. What she told you to do."

Neo's breathing stopped. The whole world stopped. The only thing she could process was that Colette's eyes were staring into hers.

No, not staring: pleading. Begging to know why two innocent teenagers had to die. And Neo had no good answer.

[Why haven't you said anything about it until now?]

"Because I didn't know what to make of it at the time. I mean... You seem like such a nice person. I figured I could find some way to help you not hurt anybody she sent to this world. You looked so scared when she left that I thought you didn't want to go through with it."

Dumbfounded was the only word that could describe how Neo felt at those words. Here was a young girl with the fate of the world truly riding on her shoulders; and, instead of outing her as a disaster waiting to happen, she took it on herself to solve the problem.

[How did you know I was scared?]

"When you turned around after facing her, your eyes were pale, almost white. Did you know your eyes are so... expressive?"

[Yes, but I can usually control it.] Fear is a powerful thing, indeed.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Colette had to break the silence with, "So what are you going to do, Neo?"

The answer to that was clear, at least. [What I need to do.]

"I see. In that case, I'll just have to do what I can to make sure everybody's happy."

[Because it's what you need to do?]

"Nope," said Colette with the first and only smile of the conversation. "Because it's what I want to do."

The morning arrived with no surprise attacks on them, as usual, so they continued on the path to Luin. Colette was busy telling the new arrivals what the city was like while Raine prepped a study plan for the children to follow while they remained stationary.

When the group reached the top of the hill leading to Luin, however, they saw only one thing.

Destruction.

Even from a distance it was clear the city had been attacked. A number of buildings looked charred if not outright burned to the ground. The east bridge entrance had giant holes in it, and as they entered the wrecked town they had to jump in order to clear some of the gaps. Noishe was left outside to avoid having to handle him.

Kratos examined the damage on one of the closest buildings. "This wasn't done by monsters. There are no claw markings on the doors, only hacking by an axe or some other weapon."

Ruby shook her head. "Why would someone do this?"

"It was either the Desians or a large group of brigands. I don't see any bodies inside, or out here for that matter."

"So they were all taken alive?" Raine was deep in thought. "A city of this size held captive. What purpose would it serve to destroy but not kill?"

Colette's ears perked up and she looked to the west. "Did I just hear someone scream?"

Everyone else listened intently, but no one heard what she had. Of course, no one else had angel senses, but only Neo knew that at the moment. So, Colette trusted her own hearing and started running that in that direction; but the bridge that led to the far side directly had been destroyed, so they had to take the long route along the north edge of the city. As they made their way over scattered stones and smashed wood the whole group heard the next scream, a man's voice.

Ruby shouted, "I'll find them! Catch up when you can." In a flurry of petals she shot like a rocket, ricocheting off a rock wall to round the corner even faster.

After a few more minutes playing hopscotch around more holes and craters they started noticing corpses, mostly men with weapons lying near them. Whoever attacked must have only killed those that fought back.

Nearing the fountain square they saw five figures: Ruby, the dog faunus that Neo got the transmitter from, Sheena the assassin, an unknown older woman with blond hair, and a bug-like monster that-

 _shink!_

-that Ruby just planted the business end of her scythe into. The creature wobbled forward and collapsed on the ground. Withdrawing her weapon, Ruby quipped, "You know, it's weird to see them not disappear after fighting Grimm for so long."

They examined the other three people carefully. Of the lot, Sheena had the worst wounds and was kneeling on the ground, looking back at them with a mix of fatigue and... acceptance?. The civilians had minor scrapes, but just looked exhausted otherwise.

When they gotten within a few yards Sheena said, "...it's you guys. If you want to kill me now's your chance. I don't have any strength left to fight."

Lloyd pointedly ignored her suggestion. "You're hurt pretty bad. What happened here?

"Isn't it obvious," she responded with a pained grunt. "There's a human ranch northeast of this city. Apparently, some prisoners escaped from the ranch and came here, and the Desians found out about it. They took away everyone they could." A small pool of her blood was at her feet.

Colette turned to Raine and said, "Professor, you have to help her!"

"Not yet. She may have allies we don't know about."

"Heh, you're just as devious as you look," Sheena responded with a laugh.

Genis looked up at his sister. "Raine, please." Jaune and Lloyd gave silent looks asking her, too.

After a moment she sighed. "Fine, but I swear you're all too softhearted for your own good." Raising to staff close to Sheena, she spoke a quiet incantation and began to heal her. The wounds on her body closed up and her face got a little more color to it.

She seemed stunned as she stood up. "You all actually helped me... Why?"

Ruby shrugged and asked, "Why were you helping these two fight off that monster when I showed up? Probably just because you could. On that note, are you two okay?"

The faunus nodded. "Yeah, we're okay. I'm Clif, and this is my boss, Emily." The woman also nodded, but seemed too tired to talk. Clif noticed Neo and said, "You're the girl I gave the transmitter to. I'm surprised to see you again."

Jaune followed with, "So you know her, too? Are you a faunus from Remnant?"

"Uh huh. I volunteered to help a scientist with his research, and I wound up here. Been in this world for a while now."

Ruby and Jaune met each others eyes. This was their chance to learn more about how to get home.

As they were getting ready to bombard Clif with questions, Sheena began walking away. Lloyd was the first to notice and called out, "Wait, where are you going?"

Without turning around she responded, "Thank you for healing me, but we're still enemies. I need to go take care of something. Farewell." She walked off, and as she did so Emily gave her a full-body bow, as thanks for protecting them.

Clif turned to the group and lowered his head. "Ever since I came here, the people of Luin have given me so much. I had a home, friends, and wasn't looked at as a freak every day. Please..." He fully prostrated himself on the ground. "Please save them! I'm weak, so all I can do is beg. But still..."

Colette had the most determined look Neo had ever seen on her. "Of course we will. We're going to do everything we can!" She glanced at her companions, who all met her gaze with equal focus.

Neo felt her right hand tighten into a fist. The plan of action for her mission could finally take place.

But...

 _'If I do this, will I be able to travel with them anymore?'_

* * *

 **A tip of the hat to everyone who predicted how bad the nefarious plot Cinder is using her in could turn out.**

 **Time to decide on your priorities, Neo.**


	20. Chapter 20- Fear

**Twenty in, twenty down. Woo woo!**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: I wish I owned a copy of Grimm Eclipse. Oh, and I don't own these characters.**

* * *

Chapter 20 - Fear

.

Forcystus was a proud half-elf. He had fought in the great war, he was loyal to Lord Yggdrasill, and he only trusted things he saw with his own eyes.

But the previous 24 hours had him doubting that last part.

First, he and two of his best men had been taken through a blue portal from their base in Sylvarant to a city named Vale. He had seen many levels of technological advancement over the millennia, but they paled in comparison to this bustling new world. Cars drove past them in droves while aircrafts carrying dozens to hundreds of people flew over their heads.

To avoid arousing suspicion they had been given clothes from the local stores, though Forcystus needed a full body coat to cover his weaponized arm. Cinder herself had changed from her red dress of death to a casual brown top and jeans. While they walked she explained the concepts of Aura and Huntsmen, how the latter used the former in all manner of ways to accomplish normally superhuman feats.

Forcystus examined the people that past by them with curiosity. As a half-elf he could perceive the presence of Mana in people. In his world, sensing Mana in a person usually meant they were of elven descent and therefore capable of magic to some extent.

But here, he could feel it in quite a number of people. Every person who had that energy seemed to be a trained warrior, indicated by their weapons and/or the way they carried themselves. The ones without it were less on guard or just not as strong. That would be worth looking into.

After the trip around town, the Desians were taken to a spot outside of town to get a healthy look at some Grimm. The location Cinder took them to only had a small number of beowolves and Ursa minors, a demonstration of their nature rather than the monsters' strength. As Forcystus shot and crushed each enemy, he felt a chill run down him.

Not from the lowly power shown, of course; but the feeling that even as the creatures had no hearts or souls to speak of, they hated all people. Their purpose was to kill everyone.

Now he sat in a storeroom of sorts reading a small selection of books they had compiled for him. (A/N: Welcome to Tukson's book trade, home to every dead puma under the sun.) The books were 'The Theories of Aura', 'The Foundation of our Nations', and 'Dust for Dummies'. The gray-haired one, Mercury, had selected the last one personally and was forced to dodge a swipe from him in retaliation.

Still, the book was a good summary of Dust usage, so who can complain? And the crates nearby had real Dust for him to examine.

He, his men, Cinder, and her lackeys had two monitors in the room. The first had a birds eye view of a large group of Grimm outside the gates of the city, while the second was tuned into a local 'TV' station because Cinder said they should watch the midday news.

His attention was taken away from 'The Theories of Aura' by the sound of the news broadcast starting. The anchor was a woman with light purple hair. "Hello, I'm Lisa Lavender bringing you a breaking news story. Several days ago, three huntsmen students went missing from Vale. Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, and Emerald Sustrai of Beacon and Haven were last seen in a chase with known criminal Roman Torchwick." Pictures of all four mentioned were put on the screen. Forcystus quickly compared to the Emerald to the green girl next to him. She was pointing at screen, apparently finding the concept of her being missing funny.

Lisa Lavender continued, "Their last known location is the outskirts of the warehouse district and our attempts to contact the headmasters of Beacon or Haven about this matter have gone unanswered. One eyewitness who wishes to remain anonymous wondered how unusual it was that four people could disappear, especially with the heavy involvement of the Atlas military in our city since the Breach incident the other week.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Atlas military as soon as they can. How this event will affect the remainder of the Vytal festival and tournament has yet to be seen, but we will make sure to give you updates as soon as possible."

The woman continued talking, but Cinder muted the noise. She gestured towards the screen with Grimm on it and said, "The Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and fear is particularly powerful one." As she spoke many of the Grimm pictured began to howl and charged the outer gates of the City, with Deathstalkers and giant snakes aiding the lesser Grimm in the attack. Soldiers and robots opened fire to mow them down, but it quickly became apparent that the positioned forces would require aid to survive.

Cinder turned to him and asked, "So, what do you think of our world so far?"

"It's bizarre to say the least, but I can at least understand your technology enough to see how you could cross the gap between dimensions. I trust that your... demonstration of the Grimm just now wasn't only for my sake?"

She nodded with her characteristic smile. "Correct. That was for the benefit of us and the White Fang."

"The White Fang?"

"Yes, they are a large group of faunus that are upset over the treatment of their race over the years. They even had a revolution some years ago that, despite the fact that they truly won, changed nothing of their status."

"Let me guess: you're helping them from the kindness of your heart. What a good samaritan." He knew that a woman like her never acted outside of what would benefit her in the long run. "What are your true goals?"

"What are the Desian's goals?"

His two soldiers looked back and forth as the tense moment stretched. They understood that they had no chance of surviving a fight between these two, so they didn't bother to arm themselves.

Finally, after much deliberation, Forcystus sighed and conceded, "Fine, I will put you in contact with my Lord. But it won't go straight to him." Cinder raised a questioning eyebrow. "He is a man of little patience. If he thinks you to be a waste of his time I will likely be punished. So, I will contact the leader of the Grand Cardinals, Pronyma, and get her to talk to you."

"Ah, I see. Getting somebody farther up the chain to shoulder the blame. Understandable. That will do just fine for me. Would you like to return now?"

* * *

Yang was having a strange day.

First, Qrow had shown up last night to comfort her, but this morning all he did was ask questions about Cinder's team and take off. When she asked why he was investigating them he blew her off with 'I'll tell you later if I have to. Sorry, kid.'

Second, Griza had resorted to text messaging over calling because it's easier to hide. He seemed to believe that his captors were making a duplicate of his machine. But then he started going into very detailed specifics, and since they weren't on a phone call she couldn't stop him from blowing up her scroll with techno babble. She had Ren sort out any relevant information, bless his soul.

Third, when she went looking for Mercury or Cinder to tell them that their teammate was even more MIA than her sis and Jaune, they simply weren't around. Nobody had seen them since yesterday.

And now, teams RWBY and JNPR had just watched a news article revealing everything they had tried to keep from the public's eye. When she mouthed 'who told the press' all she got in response was a collective shrug. Only a few moments had passed after the article finished when she got a call from Professor Goodwitch. Answering the phone earned her a curt, "Headmaster Ozpin needs to speak with your teams."

This was a strange day, and a bad one.

Entering the large office, they were surprised to find not just Ozpin, but Qrow, Glynda, and even Ironwood there. They all stood still as the students made to stand in a line.

James spoke first, "I think I know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask anyways: did any of you talk to the media?" They shook their heads. Ironwood sighed and continued, "Then we have a situation. Yang's conversation and Qrow's reconnaissance lead us to believe that the Haven students Cinder and her team have something to do with the disappearances of your teammates."

Qrow followed with, "I took a trip around town yesterday and this morning and saw Cinder and Mercury accompanying three peculiar men. When I got close enough to listen, she was explaining what huntsmen were to them. I lost track of them when they went through some blue portal. Yang, has the doc told you what his portals look like?"

"Blue circles, apparently."

Phyrra spoke up, "Was their teammate Emerald with them, since she wasn't seen with Ruby and Jaune when they were... sent away?"

"No, probably keeping her head tucked away."

Ozpin took over. "We don't know why they would target your teammates, but it would seem they are indeed the ones who were responsible. The men Qrow saw were likely from another world, though we have no proof. But we need your teams to be ready, because you will be assisting Qrows and James's forces in the assault on their base when we or Yang's source figure out where they are located.

All of the students nodded with determined expressions. Ironwood said, "Yang, you should ask Griza to begin making observations on his surroundings. Anything could be indicators of his location, from smells to sounds, so tell him to be thorough. We will continue to monitor your messages to help us stay on the same page and we will tell you once we've figured out where they are. However, you must be cautious. They were in the room when we discussed his call the first time and they haven't stopped his messages, so it's entirely possible he is involved with them of his own will."

"Got it."

"Good. You are all dismissed." As they turned to leave he called out, "Ah, my apologies, but we need to speak to you, Ms. Nikos." Pyrrha nodded and, after promising to tell the others what happened when she got back to the dorm, stood before the four teachers in attentive silence.

The adults all looked uncomfortable, but Ozpin said, "Ms. Nikos... tell me, what is your favorite fairy tale?"

"I'm... sorry?"

* * *

After they checked their supplies, Lloyd and the group set out northeast to the human ranch. It was shockingly close to the city, less than 2 hours at the brisk pace they set. They staked out the routes of the patrols while discussing the possible break-in methods.

The structure had high walls and was separated from the nearby cliffs and trees, so jumping in wasn't an option. The number of guards was high, so a forced entry through the gate would probably result in heavy injuries, forget about getting out. They would have to be sneaky.

The patrols were in groups of threes and fours, often with two spearwomen and a crossbowman or mage (Genis noted that most magic users use staves as a focus point for their spells.)

Lloyd and Raine gave the solution almost simultaneously. "We're going to impersonate the guards." They shared a smile at the occurrence and Raine said, "So your mind works fast at times like these, huh? I wish you would do this in classes."

He shook his head. "Not a chance, Professor."

Ruby asked, "We're going to borrow their clothes, huh? So should we go for a group of three or four?"

Jaune responded, "A group of three, we need to be able to knock them out before they sound the alarm. On that note, don't use your rifle Ruby. It's loud."

Before the next patrol came around they settled on the plan. Ruby and Neo were the quickest, so they could attack the closest two units while Genis froze the third. The not-so-poor victims came around the corner of the path and had just turned their backs when a red blur of petals zoomed horizontally across the path and tripped the whole lot with a scythe. Neo, right behind her, promptly stabbed through the chest piece on the first spearwoman into her heart, making the hole as clean as possible for future use.

The mage of the group began to rise but had his head encased in ice, suffocating him. The final spearwoman also made to get up but felt the blade of Ruby's scythe pressing down on her neck.

Now, Ruby had lots of experience fighting people, but she had never killed someone before. Rather than immediately run the edge along her neck to kill her she said, "Come quietly, or I'll have to do it." The Desian met her eyes and, fearful for her life, nodded.

In respect for the arrangement, Neo knocked her out with a kick to the head. As Ruby made to object the pint-sized warrior held the transmitter to her face.

[One time only. Never hesitate when it's life or death.] Ruby only glared back in return.

The rest of the group came over to help pick up the bodies. Kratos said, "Let's retreat to Luin for the night. We'll have to make sure the clothes can be worn."

* * *

 **Next chap is the infiltration of the ranch!**

 **It was an awkward decision to include the Maidens' powers in the story, but within the scope of the universe it really is the reason Cinder could kick so much ass with ease.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the read, and have a nice day.**


	21. Chapter 21- Infiltration

**Remember when I said I was taking a liberty or two with Neo's Semblance since its true nature is still a mystery? That is explained today.**

 **This chapter is a hair shorter, but that's because the chapter after it is looking to be very long.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

Disclaimer: I own nada.

* * *

Chapter 21 - Infiltration

The group decided to bring the unconscious Desian back to Luin with them while putting the naked bodies of the other two away from the path for monsters to find and eat. Before rejoining everybody, Neo made it a point to take the dead Desians' Exspheres and key crests, both bracelet types, in case she decided she wanted to arm herself with it. Counting the one she kicked, that meant three sets for the three people of the group without them in the first place.

She wasn't actually planning on giving the two the tools they may need to fight her, but the true scope of the Desian's power was unknown at this point. In her mind, it was better to put her own safety first before the assassination. It was a flimsy justification, to be sure, but Colette's words had possibly put her plans on hold anyways.

When they reached the city, they decided to leave the Desian tied up and with Clif so he could keep an eye on her. They set up a campfire because there was no building fit enough to sleep in.

Just as the flames began to rise the familiar ding came from Neo's transmitter.

[Your requested supplies are ready if you are.]

Neo showed the message to Raine and Kratos with a look that asked 'Want me to get it or wait?' Raine contemplated it, then answered, "Go ahead and have them send it. We can store the books in one of the ruined buildings while we make our rescue."

Nodding, she typed, [Send the supplies now.] and put the transmitter away. Moments later a portal opened almost on top of Lloyd, who jumped away in shock.

"Okay, that was rude!"

Everyone laughed at him as a man with deer antlers walked a cart with a crate on it through the rift. Opening the lid he called out, not unlike a gruff shopkeeper, "Alright, I've got rifle rounds, books, and a scroll charger. Who wanted what?" Ruby, Raine, and Jaune respectively came forward to collect their goodies. As he passed everything out he turned to Neo and said, "Your airship will probably be two more days."

She nodded in acknowledgement and he walked back into the portal with a now empty crate. Neo saw Jaune slip the charger into his pocket and she felt a question rise in her mind, so she walked over to him and typed a message out.

[I'm curious, why did you bother to get a charger? Once the charge to that goes dry the scroll will just run out again.]

He gave a rueful smile. "Actually, Ruby here had an idea. We'll save the charger for when we manage to return home, because we're gonna need to be able to contact people, right?"

It wasn't a bad idea, she realized. Neo still needed to kill them, however, and therein lie the issue.

The simple fact about things was if she got them killed, whatever the method, she would be booted from the group by Colette. This constituted a failure of the 'maintain connections' directive. And, sadly, none of these things were even the worst part.

The worst thing was that she felt so damn _guilty._

The group refocused and examined the clothes they pilfered. The mage uniform's helmet had been thoroughly cracked by Genis's ice, so that outfit was out; and, to Neo's frustration, the woman she stabbed had bled through all of her shirt, rendering it suspicious and useless. The final outfit was good, however, and fit Raine well. The only remaining problem was...

"How would it look if one Desian showed up with seven prisoners," asked Kratos. "They aren't stupid, those kind of numbers would be very suspect.

Neo sighed. She would have to reveal her hidden card now.

Focusing her Aura, she visually shifted from a pink and brown haired woman in a white suit into a white haired woman in a female Desian outfit. The crowd gave an exclamation and Lloyd walked over and touched her, as if making sure she was real. She typed the answer to the unasked question.

[This is my Semblance. I can cast an illusion on myself and up to one other to create an altered image. If I cast the image on an empty space, it creates what I call a 'Mirror', which I can switch places with at will.]

To demonstrate, she created an identical copy of herself about fifty feet away from her. Then, she 'shifted', and the real her was now where the copy had been and vice versa. She let the copy fade to reveal her new true location.

Genis and Lloyd could barely hold in their awe, and Ruby silently mouthed 'That explains what happened that day with the mech.'

Kratos asked, "So this is how you prevented me from getting hurt at the Fire Seal? Creating a mirror, grabbing me, and switching places?" She nodded. "That is a very useful ability. It's almost a shame, now, that we of Sylvarant can't use powers like those of your world."

Lloyd was almost jumping. "Are you sure you won't try to awaken our Auras? This is amazing!"

Raine sighed. "If only we didn't have such an urgent mission. I can't wait to dive into the texts that man brought to discover all I can about Aura and your world."

Jaune said, "So two fake Desian guards versus six prisoners. That's a little more believable; and, if we have to, we can say that we took out two of the Desians that helped you capture us." Ruby went strangely quiet at that. Jaune noticed, but decided against saying anything at that moment.

With the plan set, most of them settled down on their bags. Jaune chose that time to talk to the suddenly melancholy Ruby. Sitting next to her he said, 'So, what's eating you, Rubes?"

She gave a sigh. "It's just... I didn't think about what it really meant to go against a group like these kidnappers. They aren't monsters, but in their own way they are. Still, the fact is that if we do this we'll probably have to kill to survive and rescue those people. I know it isn't like me to mope, but I'm just having my doubts about being able to do it."

Jaune thought long and hard before answering, and then inspiration struck him. "May I quote somebody who once gave me great advice?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Nope!"

Ruby gave him a blank stare, trying to figure him out. After a minute, though, she got it and laughed. "Really, Jaune? Out of all the people to quote to me, you quote ME?"

"This isn't just about us, after all. There are innocent lives on the line. Therefore, we will do what we have to do. And besides..." He gazed up at the moon, still quite whole in its glow. "It probably comes with being a huntsman even in our world. Not saying we 'should' kill other people, but we probably 'have' to."

They let the words soak into their minds. There was one thing they could be certain of: neither had a desire to shed blood. It wasn't out of fear, however, but out of understanding how precious life was.

And if they always kept that in mind, they would be okay.

Ruby looked at him and said, "Who knew that two socially awkward people like us could make such great motivational speakers? We should hold seminars."

"Maybe, but it probably only works because we're on the same wavelength. Try saying this stuff to people like team CRDL and see how far you'd get."

"Good point." They shared a private chuckle. "Thanks, Jaune. I was right when I said you would make a great leader."

"Just returning the favor, Ruby. Good night."

"You too."

The morning of destiny arrived and they promptly marched back to the ranch. Once they got close the 'Desians' assumed their disguises and bound the hands of the others with some rope they found in Luin. Raine took point on account of Neo being mute.

When they got to the gate one of the two guards shouted, "Identify yourself!"

She didn't, of course. "We've done it! We capturedthe wanted criminal Lloyd Irving!"

Both guards flinched, and then examined the prisoners and Lloyd. "Good job! And you even captured him alive! Oh this will make Lord Kvar's day, I bet."

"I wish to take him in for processing."

"Right, don't let me stop you. Open the gate!"

The gate swung inward, inviting the new prisoners to meet their fate. As they walked in, they got a good look around the open exterior. There were quite a number of humans in gray rags being forced to move large stones or boxes from place to place. The prisoners could only spare the newcomers a glance, as even a moment of slacking would result in a whip across the back.

They chose a door at random and followed the path until it lead to what looked like a control room. There were several computers, multiple doors, and a wide window that gave a view of a rather large factory room with conveyor belts.

As Raine slipped off her helmet she peeked at some of containers passing by on a nearby belt. "It would seem this is an Exsphere manufacturing plant." Jaune and Lloyd craned their necks around her to get a better viewing angle while Neo examined the computer in the center of the room. Pressing a couple buttons brought up a map of the complex.

But before she could examine it Colette shushed the group. "...sh. I hear voices coming from the next room." To emphasize the point she looked to her left. Everyone was starting to bring out their weapons when three men burst into the room, one them a larger man with brown hair. Lloyd immediately recognised them. "It's the Desians from the Triet Desert!"

One of the moons smirked. "Sir, they still think we're Desians. This is the perfect chance!"

* * *

Yeah, again, sorry for it being thin. Next chap will make up for it, I promise.

Hope you enjoyed it, and have a nice day.


	22. Chapter 22- Anna

**Dark habit said it best. "And the Renegades fuck it up!" Because really, that's exactly what happened in the game. The *entire game*.**

 **Full admission, the last chapter and this one were originally planned to be all the same chapter. But my storyboard failed to consider precisely how big this chapter would be. And what with me keeping a focus on 2k-ish chapters for ease of reading, I needed to make that last one stumpy. So...sorry about that.  
**

 **But to make up for it, here is the first part of this story I've really been looking forward to. Enjoy!**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

 **Disclaimer: This story is a product of other peoples properties.**

* * *

Chapter 22 - Anna

.

As the one named Botta made to tell his goon to attack, Kratos stepped forward to make his presence known. "Wait, Kratos is with them. Let's retreat for now."

Lloyd arced an eyebrow. "What, do you know them?

"I suppose, if you count meeting them at Iselia and Triet."

If Neo could talk she would have yelled 'bullshit!' As it was, she made do with rolling her eyes. This Botta guy knew Kratos specifically and singled him out as the reason not to attack. Two meetings does not such recognition allow.

Botta made a hand signal to his two to keep moving, and all three slipped past the group towards a door on the far side. As they approached it, however, it opened in advance and three mage class Desians in blue greeted everyone with a joint fireball.

Botta's group dove to the side, and the attack continued on its path towards Colette. Realizing this, Kratos and Jaune shifted in front of her with their shields up, blocking the blast in its entirety. Colette took a moment to process it all, and then smiled at the men. "Thanks, both of you!"

Kratos interrupted Jaune's 'your welcome' with, "Focus, look at the door they attacked from!"

The group turned their attention as directed and saw a man with silver hair and gold pauldrons step through it between the mages. He eyed the group with a mix of curiosity and disdain; and, on closer examination, one could see that his pupils were not circles, but snake-like slits.

Whatever this man had been born as, human, elf, or mix... He clearly wasn't that any longer.

He spoke. "Well, well. When I heard there were intruders I assumed it was the Renegade Botta. So imagine my surprise to see not the rats, but the long sought Lloyd Irving. This is a boon." As the seconds passed soldiers appeared from almost every door in the room. The only entrance to remain clear was the one leading to the factory floor, and Chosen and company were left with no choice but to take it.

They made their way through the metal pathways with all the speed that caution would allow. Crossbow bolts pelted the floor and rails around them, and the shield bearers hung back to deflect what attacks they could. The machines were still running, as well, so they frequently had to jump or sidestep containers that threatened to knock them over.

The chase came to an abrupt end when the path simply stopped with no warning. Where a walkway should have been existed empty air that gave a peek at another window. Through the window they saw a person being carried on a crane to an unknown location on the left.

What shocked the group was that from the spot the person would logically have continued their voyage... came out a container with an Exsphere, sans human.

Ruby struggled to find her voice. "W-What is this?"

The answer came from behind them.

"This is where the Exspheres are extracted from the host bodies." They spun around to see their newly acquainted enemy and his soldiers.

"Kvar..." Kratos's voice was almost a growl.

Raine asked, "Do you mean that Exspheres are made from…human bodies?"

Kvar's voice was very matter-of-fact. "Not exactly. Exspheres are dormant at first. They extract nourishment from humans to grow and awaken. Human ranches are Exsphere manufacturing plants. Why else would we spend our time raising and taking care of these inferior beings? Beings just like..."

He turned to Lloyd, "...the maggot that ran away with my Angelus project. Lloyd, your Exsphere was to be an offering to Lord Yggdrasill. It's time you gave it back."

Lloyd remained defiant. "Just what is so special about my Exsphere!? How about somebody explain this to me for once!"

"That is the result of years of time-consuming research. I can finally reclaim what was stolen by that filthy female host body."

That made Lloyd flinch. "What are you talking about? The female host body? You're not talking about…"

The look on Kvar's face could almost be pity, if the man were capable of it. "…Hmm, you don't know anything, do you? That Expshere was cultured on host body A012, human name, Anna—your mother. She took it and escaped from the facility. Of course, she paid for her crime with her life."

"You killed my…" Neo could swear that Lloyd was almost hyperventilating at this point. The boy's chest was rising and falling at a freakish pace.

Kvar, however, was smiling. "Now, now, don't blame me. I'm not the one that killed Anna. Your father did."

" _Liar!_ "

"Please. When her Key Crest-less Expshere was removed, Anna turned into a monster…and your father killed her. Pathetic, don't you think?"

Opposite of Lloyd yelling, Kratos's voice remained low and chilly. "Do not speak ill of the dead." But Kvar only reeled his head back in laughter.

"Hahahaha! Who cares? They were both just a couple of filthy humans. In other words, worthless maggots."

The jovial sadist snapped his fingers and his soldiers began to creep towards the group. Their eyes darted around, looking for any possible escape route.

Just then, a purple figure with black hair dropped from the ceiling and landed between the opposing parties. Sheena turned her head to the Chosen's group and said, "I'll handle this!" She removed a paper card from her sleeve and, whispering, "I'm gonna use the last one, grandpa," she summoned a green Guardian that released a loud screech and a blinding white light.

When the room cleared of glare, Kvar and his men could find no sign of Lloyd or his companions.

Outside of the ranch, said individuals were momentarily stunned by the presence of the midday sun. When they managed to get their bearings Colette turned to Sheena with a face full of smiles. "Thanks Sheena!"

"Don't mention it. But what are you going to do now?"

With a sigh, Raine suggested, "Let's return to Luin first. We're not going to accomplish anything here for the moment."

Kratos gave a grunt, and the only real reply was from Genis. "Okay..." Nobody else spoke the entire trip back to town.

(A/N: I know that the original scene occurred at night in the game, but with the timeline and distances here they'd still be getting back way before evening. So for the sake of consistency, here's some daytime drama.)

The group decided to rest near the destroyed fountain while they got themselves together. The Exsphere wielders were staring at their orbs while the Remnant dwellers mulled around in their own thoughts. The knowledge that the power the Exspheres thrived off of was people weighed them down almost as much as the rest despite the fact that they didn't use them.

With a sudden burst of energy, Lloyd ripped his Exsphere from its socket on his hand and yelled, "This...This thing!"

Colette was the first to respond. "Lloyd, wait. What will you accomplish by taking that off? It's not just an Exsphere, it's also your mother's life, remember?"

"But these things make a mockery of human life."

"But we would have lost long ago had we not had them." Kratos wasn't angry at Lloyd's outburst, only stern.

"Don't you think I know that?!"

"Do you really? If you throw away that Exsphere now, do you think you can finish this journey?"

Lloyd had stopped yelling now, but he couldn't keep his rage from his voice. "…Yeah. I know. Without these things, we're just a bunch of weak humans. We can fight because we have these. I know that. But Exspheres exist as a result of taking someone's life!"

"And? Those people didn't become victims because they wanted to, but I doubt they would want to be thrown away after being turned into Exspheres."

It was at this moment that Jaune decided to put his two gald in. "Lloyd... none of us from Remnant use Exspheres, so I can't say that we understand how you feel. But isn't it more important that you do what you can to make sure the Desians disappear? You know, help Colette regenerate the world?"

Neo reached into her bag and retrieved the three Crest-and-Exsphere sets she had retrieved. She handed one to Ruby and one to Jaune, followed by typing out a message for them.

[If that's how you honestly feel, then do you have it in you to put these on? Would you feel comfortable knowing that somebody died to give this to you?]

Jaune faltered only for moment before he giving her his answer. "Comfortable, never. I hate the thought that somebody had to lose their life for the sake of power. But that just means I would have to fight harder to stop any more people from suffering this fate."

Ruby hesitantly nodded, even as she looked at the bracelet tool. "These Exspheres shouldn't exist. I know this in my heart. But, like Jaune, I am determined to stop this, even..." She gave a sigh and leveled her gaze towards Neo, "...even if it means having to kill. My uncle Qrow never talks about certain missions, but I'm sure he's had to make this decision, too."

Both teens slipped the bracelets into their bags. Whether they used them or not, they would serve as a reminder of their new goal: to stop the senseless creation of Exspheres.

Kratos gave a firm nod. "The children are right. We can throw away the Expsheres at any time; but right now, we must carry the weight of the hopes and dreams of those victims and fight for their sake, as well as ours. Didn't you say you weren't going to hesitate anymore?"

Lloyd brought the Exsphere into the sun's light, letting a stream of green light through to his face. "Yeah. You're all right, even if I hate it. Mom's regrets and wishes dwell in this thing. To prevent creating more victims like Marble and my mom, I'm going to help Colette. I will fight for both myself and my mom who lives on within me"

Genis spoke for the first time since their return. "Me too. I'm going to fight on Marble's behalf as well." Neo made a mental note to ask them who Marble was later. Raine followed with, "I think you've made a wise decision, Lloyd. People are sinful beings. That's why we must continue to bear the burden of our sins for as long as we continue to live"

The purple-garbed assassin stood at the center of the gathering and asked, "Will you take me along with you? I will never justify the sacrifice of people's lives to create Exspheres. The Desians need to be stopped at all costs!"

Colette walked to her and put her hands on top of the older girl's. "Of course you can come with us. You saved us, and I know that we both fight for the side of good."

Sheena smiled. "Thanks. I kinda used my last Guardian in there, but I'll do my best to still be helpful."

Lloyd put his mother's Exsphere into its proper place and walked towards the Remnant Three. He seemed to have trouble deciding his words, and spoke slowly even after he did, feeling out his phrases. "Guys, I know we all kinda joked about it before when the Professor said it might be dangerous. But now, I'm honestly asking you. Can you...at least try to release our Auras? I want to be able to do everything I can to take down the Desians and make Colette's journey a success."

Ruby only frowned and Jaune responded, "Well, like I said, you need to have the incantation and the person doing the unlocking needs to be experienced at manipulating their Aura. According to my friend Pyrrha, who unlocked mine, she had spent quite a long time learning how make her Aura work before she trusted herself with it."

Everyone turned their eyes to Neo. With a sigh, she answered in her usual way.

[The incantation is only a focus point, so even though I can't 'speak' I can do it. But remember, we don't know if you people are the same as us. If you die, this isn't on me.]

For some Monty-only-knows reason, Lloyd laughed. "Ha! That sounds like you. Well, how about you start with me then? I'm not belittling myself with 'I'm not important', but I don't want to risk anyone else's life on a selfish request like this."

Raine pat his shoulder. "Are you sure, Lloyd? Dying or not, this could do irreparable damage to you if it fails."

"I'm positive. So, Neo, would you do me the honor of trying?"

She pondered this for a bit. The Professor had a point: failure could mean horrible things to a body not used to Aura usage. But even to a heart as accustomed to tragedy as hers, the Human Ranches were an evil she couldn't condone.

Especially when she considered what it would be like for her to have lost her sister Vanilla that way.

Neo gave a firm nod. She gestured for him to step closer and he complied. Placing both of her hands on his face, she closed her eyes and matched her breathing to his.

 _For it is in passing that we achieve Immortality._

She began to gently investigate his body with her Aura; a task made difficult by the fact that his body didn't seem to use it.

For you see, the entire body of a person is like a roadway system. If it could be viewed visually, it would look rather like a downtown street in Vale; there would be lines where the roads are and pulses of Aura would be the cars. In Lloyd, no cars were being driven and no roads had been paved...

...But there was a beat.

 _Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all._

As she neared where his physical heart would be, she felt it. A orb of light, kept within itself in a way not unlike the closed petals of a flower. Softly, she began to peel away at the outer layers. Bloom, she 'told' it. Bloom as you know that you should.

And bloom it did.

 _Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul,_

Energy began to wash over her as his soul awakened. Possessing the depth of an ocean, but the gentleness of a breeze, it felt...very...'Lloyd'. His body began to hum with its new power; and then, after a few moments, it settled. Ready to use whenever he was in need.

It would be hard to train him, but hey, he had three Remnant allies to help with that.

 _and by my shoulder, protect thee._

She was about to release the connection when she noticed something odd. Now that his energy was connected to his body proper, she noticed another pulsing of life. When she made a mental map of its source, she realized it was originating from around his left hand. Her Aura reached out to touch it...

...and it responded by _drawing her in._

Frantically, she struggled against the sudden gale of suction; but she was no match, and she was soon swallowed by it. It crossed her mind that this would be a terrible way to die.

Then, suddenly, her eyes opened. As in she could actually look at her surroundings with her senses instead of feeling it out with her Aura.

It was a relatively blank environment, encased in a green shell that she suspected was the Exsphere. In the middle of it all stood a single person, a woman. She had light-brown hair and a simple beige dress; but, most importantly, her eyes were a perfect match for Lloyd's. Which would mean-

"Well, hello there! I can't say I ever expected to talk to somebody again, but that's something to be grateful for at this point." She had a smile on her face. "My name is Anna, and you're... Neo, right?"

* * *

 **And here we are, my first real bit of original content for the Tales side of things.**

 **I've decided to start answering reviews in the opening editor's notes, and I always love constructive criticism. So I hoped you enjoyed it, please leave a review, and have a nice day.**


	23. Chapter 23- Explanations

**Belated shoutout to Tashawn Matthew for being the only one to see the connection I made to Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clif and Emily, guys, Clif and Emily.  
**

 **I am now looking for a Beta reader for this story, because I want everybody to get the most out of this that they can. My Grammar are the goodest, you see.  
**

 **Reviews:**

 **DrakeDZero: Thanks, I appreciate that. The idea for the story came when I thought about how the characters would interact with each other.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'  
_

[Brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything. Yes, I am excited for Volume 4.

* * *

Chapter 23 - Explanations

Neo felt her head snap back in surprise. Here was a woman who died many years ago, leaving her soul behind in an inanimate object that her son has been using to fight with, now trying to have a conversation with a mute _._

Anna chuckled. "Oh? Now that's funny, because I can hear you just fine. I guess it's because we aren't talking with our mouths and ears but our minds."

 _'Really, now? Two plus two equals...'_

"Four, and for the record I'd like to consider myself as having just a little bit more book smarts than my son. He's a sweet boy, and operates very well when it comes to his instincts. But math and science...aren't quite his strong points, if you haven't noticed."

She can't say that she did, but that was mainly because she tuned out whenever Raine started reviewing study materials with the teenagers. But anyways, focus on the now.

"Yes, sorry about dragging you in here like that. I didn't know what to think when I felt your Mana reaching out to me, so I just kind of reacted. Or...is it Aura?" Anna put a finger to her lips in thought. "Make sure to sort all that out with the others. The fact that we're able to talk like this must mean that, at the very least, the two aren't unrelated."

 _'Will do. But how are you in here... well, alive?'_

"That's just it, I'm not. The Exsphere must've leeched enough of my life force to leave an imprint on it, because for as long as Lloyd has been using it I've been able to tune into his life. Through the energy he channels I receive his thoughts; so, while I can't observe the outside world directly, I see everything that he processes."

That struck Neo as being extremely lonely. _'I have no clue how long this conversation will last, so while we have time to think about it, is there anything you want me to pass on to them?'_

"How kind of you to ask, especially for a woman with questionable motives."

So she suspected her, even without everything Colette knew. _'Point taken. But my reasons for being with them aside, you having your soul trapped in here is still horrible. So why not let let me do you a favor while I'm offering?'_

"Hmm." Once more Anna put her finger up to her lips. She must've done that frequently in life. "For right now, at least, don't tell them I'm in here. I have a feeling that might make things awkward. But what you can do for me is make sure Lloyd doesn't act only for the sake of revenge. Killing Kvar is one thing, because that man-shaped _thing_ truly deserves it, but...When he thinks about Desians, any Desians at all, he gets filled with so much anger." She solemnly shook her head. "See to it that he acts to protect, not to kill. Because if he follows that path, he will be no better than them."

Neo nodded. Naturally, she didn't know how long she would really travel with them for. But the pint-sized warrior would make sure Lloyd didn't do what she herself had.

Anna put her hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. It means a lot to me, being able to say all of this. Oh, and by the way..." Her grip on Neo's shoulder became much tighter, to the point that Neo was grateful it wasn't her real body. "...If you hurt him, I will find a way to get you for it. I may have only been able to know him for a few short years, but he's still my son." And with that she gave Neo a forceful shove.

She felt herself leave the Exsphere, passing by Lloyd's heart one more time before reality came crashing in.

Coming to, she was still standing in front of him, hands pressed firmly against his face. Lloyd looked a little dazed, likely from the entirely new sensation he felt with his awakened Aura. Neo pulled her hands away and both of them made to sit on the ground. It was a crazy experience on all accounts, and she had a lot of things to process.

Ruby looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well Lloyd isn't dead, so that's one worry down. But did it work like it was supposed to?"

Lloyd spent a moment examining his hands and arms. "It feels...warm. Kind of like a gentle light covering me, I guess? Tje Professor and Genis are the ones who can sense Mana, can you two see a difference in me?"

The genius magician made a show of it, cupping his chin in his hand while he walked a circle around them. "Actually, yes. Before all that you felt like any other human we know, but now I can feel a sizeable amount of Mana coming from you. And now that I think about it, I feel it from all three of you from that other world."

Sheena looked stunned. "Other world? I've never seen a weapon like the red-haired girl's in Tethe'alla." Every single person present turned to look at her. She looked back at each of them, almost frightened by the collective 'What' present on their faces. "You guys... were talking about Tethe'alla, right?"

Lloyd spoke for the group. "What the heck is Tethe'alla? We were talking about Remnant."

She almost threw her hands up. "Oh what the heck, is there a third world now!? The Renegades didn't tell us anything about this!"

With almost deadly calm, Raine put her face right in front of Sheena's. "Tell us about this world of yours. It sounds like you have a lot to say."

* * *

.

Yang was upset now, full 'you won't like me when' upset. First, Pyrrha had started secluding herself since returning from Ozpin's office, and when anyone asked her what was wrong they got the famous Champion of Mistral smile that screamed 'I'm not okay, and would love to not talk about it.'

And second, Griza didn't have a clue where he was. He hadn't handled the machine at all since his most recent move, so his coordinates were out of date. She had an idea for how to get around that, but resolving Pyrrha's dilemma came first.

So, when Pyrrha said she was going to take a walk around campus at night and disappeared, the leftovers of RWBY and JNPR went looking around campus for her. After thirty minutes she received a message from Weiss. [I've found her. Go ahead and return to the dorm.]

 _'So I'm leaving consoling a girl that has been hurting for mysterious reasons to Weiss-cream. Oh well, hope it works out.'_

Weiss discovered the golden warrior on top the rooftop of one of the dorm buildings. She was busy staring at... nothing, but did not miss the new arrival. "Hello there, Weiss. I'm surprised to see you. What brings you here?"

Schnee decided to play it slowly. "Oh, you know. Just looking for a good view. This seems like a cozy spot, so I think I'll sit for a while." She mentally kicked herself.

 _'Too casual.'_

Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't seem to notice. "I found this place early in our first semester. Jaune and I..." She trailed off, leaving Weiss to finish the sentence.

"...Did your training here? He mentioned it to us around the start of the second semester. Apparently, you've put a lot of effort into shaping him up."

"Yeah, he's come quite a long way since his first days."

"Did you teach him to dance, too?"

"Actually, no. He said that his seven sisters help teach him that. I can only imagine the stories involved in that."

They laughed, but it felt hollow. The laugh turned to silence, and then a void. It was stifling, frankly, and Weiss knew she had to push harder.

"Pyrrha...look, I know you and I aren't close like you are with Jaune. But something the teachers said to you has been bothering you, hasn't it?"

There was no answer for a minute, and she began to wonder if she had hit too hard. But, to her surprise, Pyrrha responded, "Weiss, what would you do if you were told that you could help everybody, but had to, maybe, give up a part of yourself to do it?"

Flinch. "Personally, that sounds like a deal with the devil."

"Hmm, maybe I didn't phrase it right. How about... if there are two paths before you, both of them being roads to accomplishing your dreams. The left path is fulfilling, but may take too long to stem the tide of darkness, and also may not be enough. The right path is short, with the results almost guaranteed, but may result in losing some of what you hold dear."

Weiss didn't answer, giving the girl a chance to catch her breath and continue. "I have made such wonderful friends here at Beacon. All of you have treated me so well, especially after I got closer to Jaune and he helped me connect with everyone. I can't give you any details, and I know all of this sounds so vague. But above everything else I would hate to lose these friendships."

Ice queen made a deliberate sigh. "Okay, so now you're just being silly."

Pyrrha looked like she had been shocked. She peered over at Weiss, trying to figure out where she was going with this. "Weiss...?"

She started going down a mental list of names. "Ruby and Nora are far too hyperactive to ever leave you alone, Ren has the utmost faith in almost everything you do, and Yang would bust the kneecaps of anybody who would avoid you for whatever it is you're thinking of doing. Blake isn't as intense as all of them, but she trusts you all the same. I'm me, meaning I know I wouldn't abandon you for some stupid reason. And Jaune... Jaune, above all the others, would never abandon you. Whether you take the long road or the dangerously short one, he is a guy who will stick with you through thick and thin."

The first genuine chuckle escaped Pyrrha's lips. "Changed your opinion of him, have you Weiss?"

She made a dismissive hand gesture. "Parts of him. At the very least, I still don't feel like he and I would work out in a relationship. But that leaves room for other girls, so hey." She smiled back at the champion. "What matters is that none of us will ever judge you for a decision you feel you have to make. Take the path you think we should take, because you are a member of Team JNPR, and you always will be in our hearts."

"...Thank you. I think I really needed to hear that, even though it's so obvious." She wiped away a tear that had been forming in her eye. "Thank you so much. I should be fine now, Weiss."

"No problem. But promise me something, Pyrrha."

"What?"

"Once you decide on...whatever it is, come tell us so we can support you, okay? That's what we're here for."

"Haha, okay. I promise. I just hope that Ruby and Jaune come back before too long."

Weiss looked to the moon, pieces of stuck in a permanent limbo. "Me too, Pyrrha. Me too."

* * *

 **So that's the 'Pyrrha seeks help' talk done and out of the way, at least the part where Jaune got chucked at the wall for. I like Jaune, I do, but I feel like most of the others could've spoken better and not given Pyrrha a mini anxiety attack.**

 **More importantly, how do you all like my Anna?**

 **I hope you enjoyed the read. Please leave a review, and have a wonderful day.**


	24. Chapter 24- PoA

**I'm a little confused as to why the site put Neo last on the revised character list. Yes, Ruby is important here...**

 **But she ain't Neo.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Marsa: Thanks, I'm glad to hear that.**

 **6tailedninja: That's a good observation. Two reasons: One, I wanted to spend some time establishing character to character relations first as a personal preference. Two, the group is going to be spending a bit of time in Palmacosta, and that seems (at least to me) to be a good time to analyze how people view their religion and how the church treats them back. It was in the Killia fight that the pre-Tethe'alla part of the game made the first big show of Colette's belief in Martel, followed of course by the fact that she was willing to die for it.**

 **Does that answer your question? Also, thanks for sticking around so long.**

 **Tashawn: I did make her a bit like Kushina, didn't I?**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: Noishe doesn't understand copyright infringement, but he does know that this doesn't qualify.

* * *

Chapter 24 - Plan of Action

.

Weiss and Pyhhra made their way back to their rooms. When the heiress sent everyone a message saying things were okay now, Nora sent back this little gem.

[DON'T COME BACK YET. Surprise party being made in JNPR room.]

She couldn't help but put her face into her free hand. Stalling for time at this point would be almost impossible, as they were less than fifty yards from the room.

Before she could even think of a plan of action, Pyhhra chuckled and said, "That face says Nora did something. Should I do my best to act surprised when we return?"

"You understand them so well. I'd say we should kill some time somewhere, but it could be just as fun to burst their bubble."

"I think I understand why everyone calls you ice queen now."

After a moment they stood in front of the very busy sounding room, and Weiss made a dramatic moment out of opening the door, her arms sweeping exaggeratedly wide in an inviting bow. Pyhhra returned the gesture with a deep curtsy and walked into the room, where she was immediately covered head to toe in confetti.

"Weiss, I told you to hold on! We hadn't made the adjustments to my party favor cannon." It was hard to tell if Nora was being genuine or fake in her anger, but everyone else was just laughing at the image of the great champion Pyhhra shrouded in a sea of red, yellow, and green paper.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't it be easier to just use the hand-pull poppers?"

"The best things in life are never easy!"

Team JNPR's room didn't have much in the way of decorations, but there was a large banner that read 'We made up, now let's rescue!'

Rubbing the confetti from her face, Pyrrha asked, "Wouldn't it be better to save all this for after we rescue Ruby and Jaune?"

Blake answered, "I thought so, too, but Nora was so happy that you were doing better that she jumped the gun. Yang here agreed to it because she figured out a way to at least get Griza and the machine to Beacon. A plan she won't tell anyone yet."

"Ah, but I will spoil it now. I told uncle Qrow to get together with the General and figure out a spot they would be okay with people teleporting to. Ren went through the doctor's texts and found out that the coordinates the machine uses are based off of the military grid reference system, or MGRS. The system is all nonsense to me, but if Griza is not willingly working with Cinder's group, then he could transport himself and the machine to an extraction point. Or, he opens the portal and we go get him, taking out anyone we see."

"You haven't messaged Griza yet, right?"

"Right. This plan relies on surprise. From the moment I tell the doc what to do we'll be on an invisible timer that leads to him getting taken away from his machine for good. Plus, if he is working with them, this will all go up in smoke anyways. Hence the old people finding a spot that they don't care about if things go crazy."

All members present allowed time for the plan to process in their heads. After an awkward beat, Blake said, "I think we've been around Ruby too much, because I can't think of any alternative, and even that crazy plan is better than us twiddling our thumbs."

Yang looked at the others. "Well?"

JNPR met each others eyes and nodded, and Weiss gave a sigh before meeting Yang's with a look filled with determination.

Team YWBNPR(?) was ready for what the next day would bring.

* * *

.

"So let me make sure I have this right: Your world didn't know anything about Sylvarant until the Renegades told you, and they're the ones that suggested killing Colette?"

Sheena understood Ruby's confusion, given what everyone had just learned about the nature of the two worlds. "Yeah. They said 'if you wish for Tethe'alla to continue flourishing, kill the Chosen of Mana.'"

Night had fallen on Luin once more, and the familiar campsite fire burned. Neo had taken to writing every bit of information down and sorting through it later. After jotting the last bit of notes, she typed out a question.

[Do we have any idea why the Renegades dress like the Desians?]

Raine postulated, "Judging by the name alone, they could be a defected faction of the Desians. But I highly doubt they would order the assassination of the Chosen for the benefit of Tethe'alla. What would they have to gain from the continued death of this world?"

"I don't know. All I can tell you is..." Sheena sighed. "I see that there are so many good people in this world. But I cannot allow my own world to suffer like this one has."

Colette tilted her head. "What if we ask Lord Remiel for advice? As an angel, he could have an idea on how to make everybody happy."

Genis gave a snort. "That self-righteous guy?"

 _Slap!_

"That one was just dumb, Genis." Lloyd shook his head at the Professor's discipline. "Colette may have a point. The angels of Cruxis can't be short on suggestions, looking down from Heaven and all that; but, in my opinion, we need to focus on the here and now... Kvar."

Kratos nodded in agreement. "They will have no doubt increased their security. Getting in will be much more difficult now, plus we have to rescue the citizens."

Suddenly, Lloyd pulled out one of his swords and started using it to draw in the dirt. After several slow moments and multiple revisions, there was a duplicate of the map Neo had pulled up on the computer, along with the outside area they had walked through to get inside.

Jaune gave an appreciative whistle. "That's impressive. You saw that once and were able to make this?"

"Yeah, arts and crafts is one of the two school subjects I'm actually good at. I practiced a lot because making the 'crest' of a key crest requires precision. This map isn't to scale, mainly because I couldn't figure out the true size of the building, but it'll work for planning things out." Lloyd looked at Raine. "Professor, do you think you can find where we were in the building, and maybe where the humans would be?"

She stooped low, holding a small stick to write with. "Judging by the door we entered, the control room we stood in was about... here. If one were to think logically, the captured people would be held on the left side, near some of the crates we saw outside the ranch. Do you have an idea, Lloyd?"

He seemed to be deep in thought. He looked at Neo and asked, "That airship your people are sending, how many people can it hold?"

[It varies, but I phrased the request so we wouldn't wind up with just a bullhead. In all likelihood, the one we get will be able to fit about a hundred. Plus pilots.]

"Will it fit inside the yard between the front gate and the building?"

[Probably, why?] Something clicked in Neo's mind. [You're going to use it for an extraction within the grounds.]

There was a smile on Lloyd's face. "Exactly. It's a pretty rough plan, but it goes like this: Neo and Sheena specialize in stealth, plus Neo can teleport herself and... one other person, right?" She nodded. "You two will infiltrate the building and take out any Desians along the way. Find the prisoners and lead them outside. To make sure they're all in the same place, we pull this off before sunrise while everyone except the guards are inside. Once you have them and are on the way out, the airship can come in and pick them up. Ruby-"

"Wait, how did you know I focus on stealth?" Sheena was perplexed. "Did I ever explain that?"

"No, but how else would you have managed to sneak around the Desians actively chasing us when you came to our rescue?"

"...Oh. Right."

"Going on, Ruby can use her gun to support the airship landing. What is the range for your weapon?"

"For a good shot on a person? Crescent Rose is good up to a kilometer or so. Any farther is unreliable for anything besides big targets."

"That's more than good enough. You understand it the best of anyone, so find any tall tree that you like. Hold your fire until you see the signal..." His smile turned into a frown. "We need a signal of some type, for when the rescue team is on the way out."

Ruby's hand shot up. "If we're using an airship, it might have a flare gun or two onboard for emergencies, and this qualifies."

"Flare?"

Jaune explained, "It's a small, usually one shot pistol. You aim it into the sky and it shoots out a distinct signal pretty far up. If we do this at night like you said it'll be seen for over twenty miles, as long as it isn't raining."

Kratos walked towards Raine and quietly said, "I find it hard to believe that three children could come up with such a plan so quickly."

Raine chuckled. "Lloyd hates classwork, but I've never believed him to be stupid. He seems to focus better under pressure, especially in combat."

Genis was doing some quick mental math. "We'll need to move quickly once the flare goes up. We should have the airship be only a few minutes away, based on how fast it is."

Colette asked, "Where will we be while everybody is doing their parts?"

"Probably on the airship ready to go," came Lloyd's answer. "With Ruby covering the landing, we'll get everybody we can on the ship. If there are a lot of people, we may have to make a second trip. The biggest concern is when the Desians manage to organize themselves. Kvar will probably come out to try to kill us."

"And we will be ready." Kratos allowed his anger to reach his voice. "He must pay for his sins."

Neo typed out, [The airship will be a day or two to arrive. Lloyd, while we wait, we should work on fixing your sloppy form.]

"I won't argue with training, but is it really that bad?"

"Yes," answered Kratos. "You have too much wasted movement. That kind of opening will get you killed."

He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Fine, I got it. Let's all do what we can to get ready."

* * *

[Hey, Panda?]

Yeah, Neo?

[When exactly is the romance going to show up?]

Not too long, we just... have to kill some people first.

Hope you all enjoyed this set-up chapter. I had to do a good deal of research here. First, we'll be doing the Remnant side of things, followed by stabbing Kvar.

And no, that isn't a spoiler. Kvar always deserves to be stabbed.

Please leave a review, and have a nice day.


	25. Chapter 25- Anywhere

**Final pre-volume 4 chapter. Catch you on the flip side of the premiere.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Marsa: I managed to keep some of the plan? The first break-in, yeah, but round two is looking substantially different. I removed Pietro for a reason. Maybe I'm just too involved to see it lol.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down]

Disclaimer: I'm running out of creative ways to say that this is only fanfiction.

* * *

Chapter 25 - Anywhere but here, please.

.

As Team YWBNPR joined Qrow inside of the bullhead that was waiting for them, they felt a definitive sense of dread. They were as ready as they could be, of course, but the fact remained that they would only have one chance at this. If they failed to get Griza or his machine, getting Ruby and Jaune back would be impossible.

Qrow spoke first as the plane began to lift off. "Ol' Ironhead's troops are waiting for us in the Emerald Forest. The spot we chose is far enough away from the school that we won't have the White Fang busting down our doors. I gotta say, kid, while I'm impressed you came up with this whole plan, it carries all kinds of risks. Are you prepared for what could happen?"

Yang looked him square in the eyes as she said, "Of course. Anything to get my sister back." Blake wordlessly put a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder.

"Hmm." Qrow took his flask out to drink, but thought it better not to. "We're just a bit out. Go ahead and call up the Doc."

xXxXxXx

Griza was, as he frequently had been these days, lying on his bunk. His cell was basically a windowless room with a bed. No toilet or other amenities. While he had been forced to spend every day bored, he was determined not to be helpless.

During one of the bathroom trips they let him out on, he managed to steal one of the White Fang goon's scroll charger for his own use. He had tried to figure out where he was, but all he could find out from a guard was that it needed better A/C. That particular guard being a bear faunus, Griza had no idea if even that was reliable.

 _'Ms. Yang hasn't contacted me for a while now. I wonder if she-'_

He was snapped from his thoughts by the vibration of Ruby Rose's scroll. He quickly swiped the answer button and brought it up to his head. Griza whispered, "Please tell me this is a 'how we're gonna rescue you' call."

"Very close, Doc, but this is a 'how you're going to rescue yourself' call. Now listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once."

His head hung down at her no-nonsense tone. "Oh goodness, you're being serious. I'm old and frail, so please don't make me run too far."

"No promises. Here's what you're going to do: You make up some kinda excuse to get you to that portal machine. Pretend that everyone might die or something, I dunno. When you get your hands on it, open a portal to this spot: 5BGZ3416510254. Repeat that."

"5BGZ3416510254. They're going to kill me as soon as I do that, you understand."

"Not if we can help it, because you have a team ready to go at the destination. Just remember the coordinates, and that I'm putting trust in you not to lead us into a trap."

"Got it."

"Oh, and Doc?"

"Yes?"

"You're doing this right now, because it's rude to keep a girl waiting for her date." With a click, the line went dead. Griza laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

 _'I don't think I could handle dating that firecracker of a girl.'_

He took a few moments to figure out his lines; it had to be at least semi-believable, after all. They had scientists of their own, the ones who had been studying his machine and making a duplicate of it. He had no clue how that particular venture was going, and he didn't have time to worry about it now.

Satisfied, but not confident, he began to yell at the top of his lungs and bang on the door. "Hey! SOMEBODY! I need to talk, this is urgent! Is anybody listening!? We could all die, come on!"

A slam came from the other side of the door. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Look, I forgot to give your scientists valuable information about the machine. If you don't let me see them and explain what's going on, the energy accumulated over repeated uses could wind up leveling this entire place."

"Is that so?" Griza heard a disbelieving snort from the guard. "And I'm supposed to let you out on your word alone?"

"No, of course not. Call them up, or your boss, or whoever. But we're talking about a machine that rips holes into the very fabric of space and time. Do you really want to run the risk of ignoring me and having the top and bottom halves of you separated?" No snark came back, and for a moment Griza thought he had walked away.

The guard started talking on his scroll with an unknown person. After he hung up, the lock on the door clicked and fresh air rushed into the cramped space. "The boss says to make it quick. I'm taking you there, but if you even twitch weird I have orders to smash your head in."

Well, that sounded pleasant. "Understood. Please, let's go."

Step one a success, he began to think about which parts of the machine were most important. Visually, it was composed of four major parts: The main control console, the reactor that gathered and used energy, a remote that could be used instead of the console to start the machine and pinpoint where the portal should open in the room, and the large upright circle that used to serve as the opening point of the portal. Originally, every portal had to open inside the circle for the sake of stability. But over months of improvement he got it to be more...flexible. The 'O' was more or less a decoration at this point.

 _'The reactor is key. The console is easy, if annoying, to replace, and I can throw the remote through the portal when it opens. But the weight of the reactor is no joke, we'll need quite a number of strong people to push it through before the hole closes.'_

No way to do it but to try. He was dead anyways if he failed, so what was the harm at this point?

Going through the building took a few minutes, with several hallways branching in four directions. They apparently put him as far away from the machine as possible, which was probably the right choice given he was about to make a break for it.

The duo finally reached their destination, a large auditorium. The machine was on the stage, and several White Fang men in lab coats were waiting for them. As they made their way down the central steps, the lead Faunus researcher, a rabbit, asked, "What do you mean you forgot to tell us something? What is it?"

It was time to play the bluff hard.

"The reactor generates all the energy it needs for a cross-dimension transfer before the coordinates are input. When the end location is another world as designed, all the energy is used. No issues there. When both the entry and exit points are in the same world, the machine doesn't have to use all of the gathered energy. The 'leftovers' are stored, but the machine still generates a whole new batch of energy instead of borrowing from the old. Over repeated uses this could cause an overload, which would likely kill us all and send pieces of us across the multi-verse." They all flinched, which meant they were buying into it. "Have you been using this for a lot of transfers within Remnant?"

The White Fang members glanced at each other with looks of concern; none of them figured out that this was a load of bull. His work used all the energy every time, because the energy cost was equal regardless of the destination.

"Okay, let me say this. We can resolve this without too much problem, and I'll show you how. But allow me to ask: did you all make a copy of my machine at another location?"

"Yeah, they've been using it for a few days now."

That was a good thing to know, even if it's bad news. "Make sure you explain this to them after we're through here."

He spent the next five minutes going through a fake diagnostic process. His guard had stepped away due to the console being so crowded with scientists. Now would be his one and only chance.

"Alright, I'm going to run a demonstration. Watch the console and keep your eye on the energy levels, because this test spot is in our world."

With a hope and a prayer he typed in the coordinates and set the portal to open in the built-in circle. The machine hummed, and a blue rip in space appeared as commanded.

It took only a moment for chaos to erupt.

A blur of black hair came from the portal. Just as his guard began to raise his voice the blur put it's foot into his face as a makeshift pacifier. The force of the hit caused him to slam into a wall and pass out.

Multiple people began to pour out and he heard a familiar voice call out, "Weiss, freeze the doors." A girl with silver hair thrust her rapier into the ground, and a wall of ice completely coated the main entrance of the auditorium.

Griza turned to the voice with a smile and said, "You must be Ms. Yang. Sorry if I made you wait, but traffic these days is just unbearable."

The blonde returned the smile. She had long hair, lilac eyes, and an air of confidence that made him wish he was young again. "Just show me a bouquet of flowers and we'll be good, Doc. What do we need to grab?" Several Atlas soldiers had already secured the White Fang scientists, and with the only guard present knocked out the stage was theirs for a moment.

Griza pointed to the reactor as he slipped the remote into his pocket. "That is the most important part right there, and believe me it's heavy. We can leave the computer console, I can make any decent computer and monitor act as a replacement."

"Nora, help me with this." Another girl with a hammer on her back jumped forward, and between the two of them they lifted the entire reactor off the floor. The duo managed to make it through the portal without wobbling once.

A man with gray hair strode over to him and asked, "These white coats know anything useful?"

"Maybe. At the very least, they should know the location of the duplicate portal creator the White Fang made based on mine." The man motioned to the soldiers, and the group of new captives were forcibly marched through the blue hole.

Gray-hair called out, "We aren't taking any risks, everyone retreat." The group responded positively, and all present walked through the portal. With everything that had happened, Griza was just glad to be escaping.

The exit revealed a forest clearing with several bullheads running and ready to take off. Yang and her companion were busy strapping the reactor inside of one, so Griza entered the second transport, the one that the more colorful peoplepresent had boarded. He witnessed the portal closing and silently said good riddance.

Their were no seats, so he just grabbed one of the pulldown straps and braced himself for the ride. The older man in charge, who had followed him on, raised his voice to be heard over the engines. "So you're the Doc I've heard so much about. Sorry to burst your bubble, but my friends and I have a lot of questions for you."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Get me some decent food for once and I'll answer anything you need me too."

* * *

If you look up that MGRS number, it should be nonsense.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review, and have a nice day.


	26. Chapter 26- Training

**Spoiler for those of you who haven't watched the new episode, but I can't not comment on this:**

 **Cinder is still alive, but Ruby's silver eyes power fucked her up. Destroyed her voice and took her left eye, so color me impressed.**

 **At the moment, I don't plan on writing her eye powers into the story because we don't understand them yet. But, if a proper explanation comes along, we'll see.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Marsa: Yeah, if the plan failed there the Good Remnant peeps were screwed. Anti climactic, yes, but it let me show off Griza's character a bit.**

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: I like Jaune's outfit. Bunny on the hoodie, too.

* * *

Chapter 26 - Training

.

After they made the return trip to Beacon Academy, Ironwood separated the White Fang scientists for their interrogations. Legally, he couldn't hurt them in any way; but, going by what Qrow had told the girls, he still knew a few ways to get into their heads.

Meanwhile, Qrow handled checking every crack on Griza to ensure he didn't have any kind of suspicious tools on him. It made sense to the latter, so he couldn't complain. After all, what kind of scientist manages to pull a fast one over a terrorist organization? And, blissfully, Qrow was much more conversational than his previous captors.

"So, Doc, you really fed them a story about how they all might die?"

"Yeah, but it was based on a bit of truth. If a portal opens on top of somebody, it really will slice them to bits."

"How'd you find that one out?"

"Well, let's just say that my superior back in Vacuo didn't have much of his dog left to bury."

Qrow gave a laugh. "So that's why you lost your funding? A guy mad over his pooch?"

"It... was a non-zero factor, yes. That's why when I open a portal based on the transmitter someone is holding, I always change the very last digit by one. Reduces the chance of accidentally killing a person."

"Gotcha." Qrow finished his examination and tossed Griza his clothes. "Go ahead and get dressed, Ozpin wants to talk to you."

That caught the scientist off guard. The headmaster of Beacon himself would be asking questions? The thought of it would have been an honor if he wasn't so intimidated. They made their way to the CCT and rode the elevator to the top floor.

The only person waiting for them was Ozpin, who motioned for Griza to take a seat. Qrow walked over to the main window and stared down, watching everything and nothing. Ozpin sipped from his mug before he spoke.

"Dr. Griza Entrada. There are many questions to ask, but I suppose the most prudent one to start with would be 'How did you come to be with the White Fang?'"

"Not by choice. They first sent a single woman to capture me, but I managed to send her away with my machine. The second group was considerably more cautious and came as a whole platoon. The choice was pretty simple: Help them or die, and either way they steal my technology."

"I see. Out of curiosity, did you send the woman to the same world the two students were sent to?"

"Yes. According to the Roman Torchwick, that woman was given the transmitter a co-worker had. I was instructed to send the children to her coordinates."

That made Ozpin frown. "For what purpose?"

"They refused to tell me, but it probably wouldn't be a stretch to assume it's an assassination..." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

In a flash, Qrow had moved from the window to right beside him, pressing the edge of his sword against his neck. "Sorry? That's all you've got?"

To his credit, Griza didn't cower at the man's actions. "If you feel you need to, go ahead. I certainly deserve it; but, at the very least, I want to give finding the students a chance. With the reactor intact, all I need is to rewrite the program I created onto a new computer to find the person with the transmitter now."

Ozpin raised his hand and motioned for Qrow to lower his weapon. "Tell us about the program."

"There are several parts. I know the code back to front, it's just very laborious to type all of it; so, if you'd like, I can recreate it in order of necessity. There is the section that can locate and communicate with the transmitter, the section that actually tells the reactor where to open the portal, and the section of data that helped me discover the new world in the first place. Of course, I also need to reprogram the energy gauges and everything like that, but those are the easiest."

The other two men contemplated which parts should be done first. After a moment their eyes met and they nodded. "The first part you should work on is the communication portion. Finding out if they are alive takes precedence."

"Understood."

xXxXx

Thanks to having his Aura awakened, Lloyd's form training proceeded at a decent pace throughout the whole day. This was due to him not having to take breaks to recover from any wounds.

However, as Lloyd quickly discovered, no amount of Aura reduced the amount of pain you felt from received attacks.

It was almost sunset in Luin. He was, for the third time this hour, thrown into a nearby building by Neo's kicks. As he shifted his weight to perform a combat roll and recover to his feet, his pint-sized attacker knocked him off balance with her parasol and slammed her heel into his chest.

Lloyd was once again on his back, staring into the mismatched eyes of Neo.

 _'Surprisingly, I don't mind the view from down here that much.'_

His lack of skill when compared to her frustrated him, but watching her fight up close really was a sight to see. She was very acrobatic, and it showed in her fondness for using flips and somersaults. But when a crucial opening came, her movements were as quick and precise as a snake's. Above all, however, she was just...

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he put one hand out to push himself up; but her heel, still attached to his chest, forced him back down. She brought her transmitter down to his eye level.

[You owe me ice cream, as agreed.]

"That was only the fourteenth time, because I still don't count the time you turned into Colette."

Rolling her eyes, she removed her foot and reached a hand down to him. Lloyd grabbed it, and was about to say 'thank you' when he felt himself flying once more through the air, landing face first into the dirt. Neo had used his momentum to roll backwards and throw him, and as he got himself up one more time she simply stood there with her arms crossed.

"Fine, fine. I get it; as much ice cream as you want when we hit Palmacosta."

If there wasn't such a hefty layer of salt in his wounds, he would have thought of her smile as cute. Both of them took a moment to survey the others.

Kratos had taken to tutoring Jaune, who had kind of the opposite problem of Lloyd. Jaune was always physically strong, and his form wasn't particularly lacking; but he was a little slow with his swings and physical reflexes. Lloyd had fantastic reflexes and quick swings; but, while he wasn't weak per sé, his self-taught style was a danger to his health.

Raine had spent all day studying Remnant's books with Genis and Colette, while Ruby and Sheena got some light sparring in.

"I've got to say, Ruby, your weapon is pretty crazy. You say that you designed it yourself?"

"Yep, though I did get some help from my uncle Qrow. But I never thought I'd see somebody fight with paper! Can you teach me that?"

Sheena laughed. "Sorry, it's a clan secret."

"Darn it."

Neo's attention was brought to her transmitter once more as it dinged. Those close enough to hear it turned to look at her. It read:

[Neo, this is Roman. The little animals that were in charge of the Doc managed to have him escape. Be careful what you type in your messages to us from now on. Your airship arrives in ten, so make sure you aren't inside a house or anything. Two pilots. Toodles, my little ball of frozen dairy.]

She gave a sigh. Grateful as she felt to Roman over the years, his naming sense always sucked. She refit the text so only the last few lines showed and revealed the message to the group. They decided to move just outside the city limits to avoid additional property damage.

After the allotted time passed, an excessively large portal opened in the air above them and the airship flew passed them, circling back around to park some ten yards from them. It was the armed, one hundred passenger model as Neo had expected, with the only chairs on board being the pilots and ten seats on the inside of the starboard wall.

All of the Sylvaranteans felt a sense of awe as the group entered from the rear drop-down entrance of the ship. Ruby promptly began looking for the flare guns as Neo addressed the pilots, both of them Faunus and in casual clothes, which was likely a wise decision.

"Ms. Neo, we're glad to be of help. We've been wondering what this world was like, so this'll be great for us."

No point beating around the bush. [Are the mounted guns fully loaded?]

"Yes, both sets are ready to go. But I thought that there weren't any Grimm in this world?"

Lloyd chimed in here. "There aren't, but we kinda have to pull off a rescue mission. Sorry to burst your sightseeing bubble."

The secondary pilot sighed. "Even here we get caught up in some drastic stuff, huh? I guess we can't avoid this, but a heads up would've been nice."

"Sorry, man. We appreciate the help."

A voice called our from an unseen location. "I found the flares! Kinda having trouble getting back up, though." Jaune found the source first, a maintenance entrance to the engine room in the corner. He peered down to see Ruby hanging by her ankles over a bar, a flare gun in each hand. "Hey, J, give me a hand."

"Sure, but how did you end up upside down?" As he spoke he reached for one of her outstretched hands and grabbed her by the wrist, gently lifting her back into the sunlight.

"Thanks. I couldn't reach them from the floor, so I improvised." Her feet landed on the deck with a thump and she bumped his elbows with hers to show her appreciation. "Our plan is good to go with these."

Kratos asked, "Since we have everything we need, should we do this tonight? There isn't much point to waiting."

The Professor answered, "It would be wise for us all to rest early, then, since the plan requires acting before dawn."

Rather than looking at them, Lloyd was staring at the Exsphere on his left hand. "Mom, I promise to save them and to avenge you, so look over me tomorrow morning." No response came, but Neo had the mental image of Anna putting her hand on his. They would be fighting as mother and son, even if the latter didn't understand the full extent of what that meant.

* * *

Next time, Round 2 at Kvar's ranch. I promise not to break it into chunks this time.

Please leave a review, and have a nice day.


	27. Chapter 27- Revenge

**So the Remnant rescue was peaceful-ish, right?**

 **This one won't be as quiet.**

 **In some good news, me calling the airship's weapons 'chain guns' worked out as I did my research for the chapter. Rotating barrel = Gatling gun, Single barrel = Chain gun. Doom had it wrong.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Marsa: Again, thank you very much. But are you able to foresee all the ships coming from the dock?**

 **Phant0m5: Yeah, my early chapters had a rough time with the numbers and staying within the proper point of view because, before starting this a year ago and then going on hiatus, I'd never written for other people as a form of entertainment. I may still go back and fix all of that, but at the moment I'm focusing on moving forward. Thank you very much for the sound advice.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I'm up to no good.

* * *

Chapter 27 - Revenge

.

Every person in the group had a difficult time getting to sleep with the magnitude of the early morning job weighing on them. They had already found a spot for the airship to park that was both close to the ranch and tucked away from sight, so all they had to do when they got up was start the mission.

Lloyd passed out first, though only because he was so physically exhausted from the beatdown he received all day. The others flit between sleep and consciousness irregularly. Colette had given up pretending to try, it seemed, as she sat outside with Neo, who preferred sleeping outside over sleeping on a bedless metal floor.

After the sun had been down for a while the Angel asked, "Neo, are you still awake?" She saw the woman's hand raise into the air as an acknowledgement. "You mentioned before that you had a sister. What was she like?"

Neo was slow in answering, but not out of sleepiness. It had just been quite some time since anybody asked her a question like that.

[Vanilla was a protective girl, and very sweet. She acted like a parent after our real ones died.]

"I'm sorry, it must have been hard on both of you."

[Why are you apologizing?]

"Because...I felt rude for asking." Neo shook her head. Not too many people apologize for asking questions. Colette continued, "But I was curious, because you've been very protective of me. Like when you got mad that I was hiding things."

[I would rather not talk about this right now. I need to be able to focus when we get going.]

"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, I'll let you sleep." Colette got up and had started to walk away when Neo snapped her fingers. The blonde turned her head with an inquisitive look as Neo typed one more message.

[When we finally get to Palmacosta, ask me again.]

Colette's smile could have split her face in half. "Okay! Good night, Neo."

xXxXx

The Chosen's group reconvened before dawn as planned, drinking some coffee that Colette had the foresight to make. They ran through the plan once more: Neo and Sheena infiltrate the ranch and retrieve the prisoners. When they were ready to go, they would shoot a flare up. The pleasant night air would allow the shot to be seen for quite a distance, and the airship was a couple minutes away at top speed, according to the pilots.

Ruby would begin her support fire the moment the flare lit up the night sky, and everyone else would be onboard the ship for the landing. With a one hundred passenger limit they might have to attempt a second landing, but that would have to be played on the fly instead of planned ahead. Despite Colette's objections, it was decided that she would remain with the ship at all times, as her safety was priority number one.

The stealth team made for the ranch. Fortunately for them the base was well illuminated, so finding a good spot to teleport to while in their Semblance-created disguises was easy. They found a small back door and entered it.

Now, the Desians would be an issue on the way out. So the plan they went with was to remain in character until they got within grapple range of the enemies and aim for the neck with their hands and blades. To prevent the bodies from being discovered, Neo began teleporting the corpses onto the roof. After depositing a dozen or so in this manner, she had a laugh at imagining Ruby's face as she saw the corpses piling up through her rifle scope.

Working through fifteen minutes of what almost added up to genocide, they made it to the prisoner containment room. It was an open-air, two story construct with glass panes acting as the bars. The humans were grouped in what appeared to be a random order, and they all stepped backwards into the cages, thinking their saviors to be only two more Desians.

Neo began searching for the controls to the gates, and found it in the form of a computer; but, to her frustration, it seemed to require a keycard. So she teleported to the roof and began searching the corpses for anything that looked remotely important. Several minutes later, she found one in the pants pocket of a whip wielder and promptly reappeared beside the computer. She insert the card and entered in a command to open the doors.

All of the glass windows opened as one. The humans went from terrified to confused. Sheena chose that moment to remove the illusionary mask, and one of the children recognized her and perked up. "It's Miss Sheena! She's a good person!"

She smiled as she said, "Sorry if we scared you, everyone. We're with the Chosen of Mana, and today is the day we rescue you."

xXxXx

 _'That Neo is a weird one. I get what she's doing, but putting them into patterns when setting them down is going a little too far.'_

Ruby was watching the facility from about four hundred meters away in a tall tree. Her weapon was in its rifle form, and she was using the scope to judge the best area to focus on. She'd been instructed to focus on the staff users, since their magic would have the greatest chances of damaging the ship.

After taking a second to fix the focus, she reached in her bag and pulled out the Exsphere. This little jewel had claimed someone's life, and they were here to stop it from happening again. Just like Jaune said (or, really, like she herself had said,) this wasn't about them. Her job now was to prevent the suffering she witnessed.

It struck her that without Aura, these Desians wouldn't just be knocked unconscious. The dust bullets would separate their souls from their bodies; she would truly be a reaper.

 _'I'm not calm enough. I need to get it together before the flare is fired.'_

She racked her brain until she remembered an old trick her Signal classmates once told her about: reciting the Riflemen's Creed. Apparently, the Atlas military (called Mantle at the time) used it back in the Great War as a way to teach discipline. She had only learned it because it sounded cool; but right now, in her heart, it had a place.

 _'This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine._

 _My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life._

 _My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will..._

 _My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...'_

The air above the building came alive as a flare was fired straight up from the rooftop. Ruby aimed the first shot even as she finished the creed. She knew that she would need some type of emotional healing later, but that would be then. This was now.

 _'So be it, until victory is ours and there is no enemy, but peace!'_

She took in a breath of air...

...and breathed out death.

 _Boom!_

The sound of the first shot hadn't even registered in the victim's brain before it was punctured by the bullet. His body reeled from the force of the impact, and he was dead before he hit the ground. The guard that was standing beside him only had enough time to yell, "What the hell was-"

 _Boom!_

The words died in his chest as blood flooded his lungs, his hands grabbing at his chest as he fell.

Two dead in four seconds, and she still had a couple minutes to go. It was going to be a long morning.

At the end of fifteen seconds an alarm started to sound, and it occurred to her that that was a considerably slow reaction time. It was, in all likelihood, due to the number of dead Desians between her and Neo. Their communication must have been in tatters.

Every shot had a target. The sound of the sniper fire had thrown the Desians into chaos, and they had no clue what was killing them in the first place. She continued to sow discord, claiming the life of anyone who showed enough of their body for her to shoot.

When she saw the airship fly over her head she ceased her fire. The captives would be on their way out of the building soon; she wasn't about to risk hitting the wrong person. The craft had underside guns, so it would be able to land without much issue.

With a flurryof petals, she dashed towards the facility. Her friends still needed her help, after all.

xXxXx

Colette was the first to see the flare, but it hadn't been hard to miss to begin with. The engine started with a roar and they shot forward to the ranch. The lurch caught several of them off guard, and Genis slammed butt first onto the floor. He struggled to regain his footing as the pilots prepared to breach the operational airspace.

The main pilot focused solely on driving while the other prepped both of the ship's weapons.

The primary gun fired fifty millimeter standard rounds, while the secondary featured Lightning Dust ammunition. The latter was designed to disrupt electronics, while the former simply possessed raw power. The secondary rounds were unlikely to be needed, so only the main gun would be beating down Desians today.

In a moment they were directly hovering over the designated landing area. Lloyd looked out of a window and saw a now undisguised Neo beckoning them down with two fingers held up. The coast was clear enough for parking, but they would need two trips to get all of the prisoners out.

He called to the pilots, "Bring her down gently, guys, and only fire at the Desians when no one else is in the line of sight."

"Right!"

The fighters walked to the tail end of the ship, and it opened up as the vessel touched down. They jumped down to protect the approaching group of citizens, who were making the trip with utmost haste. Kratos grabbed the shoulders of an older gentleman and said, "Make sure the pilots take you all the way back to Luin. We'll protect the ones still here."

Upon seeing the man nod in response he let him go. The ship closed its entrance and lifted off the ground, releasing a volley of gunfire at a small group of Desians that had gotten close. Now safe in the air, the ship took off due southwest, away from the now rising sun.

Every member of the group, including the newly arrived Ruby, reconvened near the door Neo and Sheena were standing at. Behind the assassins stood another, if smaller, group of people in grey rags. Lloyd reached Sheena first and asked, "How many people are left?"

"Thirty-eight."

A hundred and thirty-eight people, out of a city that had been home to several hundred. His anger was rising again, but he knew he had to focus. "Is there a good spot inside there for you and a few others to protect them?"

"There's a storage room of sorts. The documents kind, not the explosive devices kind."

"That'll work. Take Genis, Jaune, and the Professor. All of you guard the people until the airship returns. The rest and I will-"

A voice yelled out from behind them. "Lloyd Irving!"

"...The rest and I will take care of Kvar." Lloyd pivoted on his heel to face his mother's tormentor. The designated defenders quickly retreated while Kratos, Ruby, and Neo brought their weapons to the ready.

Kvar was standing where the airship had landed, surrounded by eight of his troops and two floating machines that were emitting sparks periodically. The man himself held a staff with a purple jewel in the center and an upper edge that gleamed in the light of the dawn.

Lloyd kept his voice low so that only his companions would hear him. "Neo and Ruby, you two handle the small fry first. Kratos and I will fight Kvar, but you join in if you can. Go." Ruby responded by planting her scythe into the ground in front of her and taking a shot, which caught a spear user in the chest.

All present took that cue to charge, the gap between them closing in an instant. Kvar parried Lloyd's opening downward swing to the side and aimed a kick at the young boy, who was forced to roll to the right to evade it. Kratos left the Desian no breathing room, thrusting his iron sword at his chest. The attack was met with the electric fields of one of the drones, forcing him back. Lloyd, recognizing the threat the machines would pose in the long run, wasted no time in piercing its body as the field dropped. It fizzled and popped, falling to the ground with a thump.

At that moment, however, Kvar stabbed his staff into the dirt and Lloyd was surrounded by arcs of lightning. His body shook violently for several seconds as the attack ran its course, Kratos unable to assist as the second drone advanced on him.

The Desian expected the boy to be a charred husk, but was surprised when his assault ended and Lloyd was still standing and relatively unwounded outside of some burnt clothes. "What's this? A new mongrel trick?"

A smirk crept onto his face. "Not really. I just like to think of it as a mother protecting her son." Lloyd held up his left hand, showing off that he still wielded the experimental Exsphere. In all truth, he had felt his Aura rapidly deplete from the electricity; but Kvar wouldn't know about any of that, and he wanted any mind game advantage he could have.

Thankfully he took the bait, as seen when the hand holding the staff began to shake in anger. "Then suffer the same pathetic fate she did!" Lloyd allowed himself a glance towards his companions.

Unsurprisingly, the mook Desians were already dead. Ruby was helping Kratos with the second drone while Neo stood to the side; when she met Lloyd's eyes she gave him a wink. He almost stopped to ask her what that was about, but he couldn't afford to ignore Kvar.

Lloyd brought his eyes back to Kvar and was shocked to see a mirror image of himself standing in the Desian's blind spot. The doppelganger put a finger to its mouth as a 'shh' gesture and winked just as Neo had.

 _'Ah, I get it now.'_

Addressing his enemy once more he said, "No, Kvar. I'm going to live. I'm going to be with my friends for years to come, because you can't stop us; and even if I do die at the hands of a Desian, it sure as hell won't be _you_." With a flourish of his swords he made a dash at Kvar, who held his staff at the side.

When Lloyd got within striking range Kvar made a quick slice with the bladed edge of the staff, and was rewarded with the sound of a mirror being smashed.

"Over here!"

He didn't have enough time to turn around before Lloyd's right sword pierced him in the lower back. He staggered forward, dropping his staff as his arms lost their strength. Kratos stood in front of the wounded Kvar, and the Desian couldn't help trying to get the last word in. "Kratos...you pathetic, inferior being."

The mercenary simply raised his sword up.

"Feel the pain..."

 _Slash!_ _  
_

"...Of those inferior beings..."

Kvar fell backwards, eyes going blank as he faced the sky. Even as he lay dying, he heard Kratos's final words.

"...As you burn in hell!"

That sentence hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. Lloyd brought his Exsphere to his lips and whispered, "I did it, Mom. I've avenged you." Neo showed Ruby a message that asked her to bring the others out since the coast seemed to be clear, and the latter agreed.

It took the airship an additional fifteen minutes to return. During that time the group decided that the best course of action would be detonate the ranch, and Raine believed she could do it from the control room. When the vessel touched down, they put the remaining citizens onboard so that Raine could make her way to the control room.

Lloyd chose to sit in the ship while the self-destruct mechanism was being activated so he could recover from the ordeal. He was feeling any number of things, but the most prominent by far was gratefulness: if Neo hadn't unlocked his Aura, he would be dead. Now he could continue to help regenerate the world...

He frowned; he hadn't given the journey much thought since they reached Luin, but he and Neo had found out that the angel transformation was having negative effects on her being. What would becoming a full Angel do to Colette?

The bomb squad returned, and the ship rose one more time to leave the ranch for good. As they ascended the group got its first real look at what Neo had spelled out in Desian-corpse-ink, and it had Lloyd laughing so hard he was forced into a coughing fit.

It said 'Vacancy'; or, at least, it did until the building blew.

* * *

This chapter was fun! Sorry my fight scenes always run short.

I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, and have a nice day.


	28. Chapter 28- Lift off

**Since my child was born, I've been averaging a chapter every two or three days; until, ironically, I got a whole week off of work. Barely got any writing done since.. sorry.**

 **Have some fluff!**

 **Also, looking for names and backstories for the pilots. Right now they're just 1 and 2. I feel kind of bad for them.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Tashawn: Thank you! I wanted to make sure Kvar was put down like the bastard he is. I think it went well.**

 **Marsa: That... actually gives me a couple ideas. But no, for the most part only Lloyd's Aura will be providing protection from damage. I like to think of Anna's Aura/Mana as being used for his special abilities (which I haven't really incorporated yet) since the Exsphere in canon is what allows his unique attacks (and wings at the end. Wink Wink.)**

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[Brackets are words written down?]

Disclaimer: I may be up to something no good.

* * *

Chapter 28 - Lift off

.

The airship was parked just outside of Luin, where everyone who had been taken back first was waiting for them. People were clamoring around Colette, giving thanks for her group saving them from the ranch. To Neo's surprise, the Chosen took it all in graceful stride; she seemed very used to it, and when the villagers got on their knees Colette led them all in a prayer to Martel.

Lloyd and the others didn't join in the prayer, choosing instead to hang back and watch the blonde do her thing. After a five minute session everyone who was kneeling stood up, and the child who had recognized Sheena in the ranch ran towards her and jumped up. The ninja smoothly caught him with both hands and hoisted him onto her left shoulder.

His excitement was palpable as he yelled out to his fellow refugees, "Ms. Sheena and the pink lady were amazing! As we were leaving they took out the Desians that found us like it was nothing!" Neo wordlessly put her closed hand near the boy and he gave her a fist-bump with a giggle.

The grey-haired man that Kratos had given orders to before stepped forth and said, "Thank you all so much for saving us. But if I may ask, what manner of vessel is this?" The outside air got rather stale as the Chosen's group froze. Colette looked nervous and couldn't bring herself to answer, choosing instead to look at her allies in a silent plea.

For all the planning they had done to save the townsfolk, everyone present had failed to process that the people of Luin would naturally be curious about the transportation. After all, what kind of ship sails through the sky like a bird?

Their salvation came from a surprising source: Clif, who had been there to receive the people when they landed, addressed the whole crowd with ease, "This is an airship, granted to the Chosen by the angels of Cruxis when she prayed for a way to save the people." The whispers started, heads tilted as they tried to process everything. Taking advantage of the confusion, he approached Colette and whispered, "Will you play along? I think it might be easier this way."

Colette, grateful for the assist, nodded with a smile. Lloyd took the chance to switch topics and said, "All of the prisoners have Exspheres attached to them; but without keycrests, it's extremely dangerous to take them off. Send a letter to Dirk in Iselia and mention me, Lloyd, and he should help you all out."

"Dirk in Iselia, got it."

Neo suddenly walked into the airship, making everyone present wonder what's going on. She returned carrying a large bag that she promptly handed to Clif. His red ears perked up with a question, but rather than ask he just opened it up. Those closest peeked inside of it and were shocked to see various gems and a rather surprising amount of gald. Neo held up her transmitter to answer the incredulous stares.

[I nicked all of this from the Desian base before we blew it up. Use it to rebuild the city.]

Clif continued to stare for a moment, then he closed the bag and bowed his head. "Thank you... Thank you so much. I'm... sorry for how I treated you when I gave you that device. I thought that you were just another criminal since it was Torchwick that told me to give it to you, but I see now that you have a great heart."

 _'I only did it because-'_ Neo's thoughts were cut off by Lloyd clapping his hand onto her shoulder. "Yeah, she can be a little awkward; but I think we'll keep her around. Right, Colette?"

"Uh huh!"

The boy received an elbow to the ribs for embarrassing her, which he answered with a pained laugh. The boy that was sitting on Sheena's shoulder hopped down and walked back to the crowd. All the citizens started heading into the city, ready to begin rebuilding both their homes and their lives.

The Chosen's group spent an hour getting the supplies in order, including the books they had stored away and Noishe (who wasn't happy being shoved onto the airship.) The trip to Palmacosta would last until the early morning hours of the next day, but nobody complained since any other method of travel would take almost a week.

As the craft pulled itself off of the ground, the angled windows of the ship allowed a great view of the citizens waving goodbye. Colette said, mostly to herself, "I hope everything goes well for them."

Raine reached over and pulled the girl into a light hug. "They'll be just fine, Colette. They're strong enough at heart to handle starting from scratch." Nobody else spoke for a while, choosing instead to watch the view as the ship went along its course.

The craft was steady, but that didn't prevent Jaune from feeling his motion sickness. After an hour in the air he found himself sitting on the floor in a corner, taking slow deep breaths to offset the nausea. Ruby walked over to him and said, "Seeing you like this is giving me a bit of a flashback here, Jaune. Anything I can do to keep this particular memory from getting more vivid?"

"Yeah," he responded past a restrained heave, "j-just distract me or something. Take my mind off of the motion."

"Alright, if you say so." Ruby promptly plopped herself down and shimmied backwards, placing the back of her head on his chest. The blond nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Ruby!? What are you doing?"

"Distracting both of us."

"I didn't mean for you to do anything like- Wait, both of us? Are you okay?"

"I'm... so-so." She seemed to sink further into him. "I was prepared for this morning, but I also wasn't. Know what I mean?"

Jaune felt at a lost. He'd never heard her sound so... depressed before. After several moments he was still failing to find a proper response, so he did the only thing that came to him: he wrapped his arms around Ruby in a comforting hug; firm, but not strong enough to hurt her.

Well, he wouldn't hurt her past her Aura anyways. But his mom had always told him to treat women with care, and now was a time to do just that.

They stayed that way for a minute without saying a word, absorbing each other's warmth and worries. The moment was broken when Ruby gave a snort. "Imagine if Yang found you like this, arms wrapped around her darling little sister."

Jaune laughed. "I'd really rather not have that happen, thank you. And did you just refer to yourself as 'darling'?"

She gave a fake indignant huff. "What, you don't think I am? Fine, what would you call me?"

His mouth was a step ahead of his mind.

"Beautiful." Both of them stopped and Jaune felt his breath catch.

 _'What the hell did I just say? Beautiful? Why would I...'_ Memories began to surface. Their first conversation as two embarrassed new arrivals. Watching her stand tall after defeating the nevermore, the wind sending rose petals all over the cliff wall. The time she inspired him to be the best leader he could be. All of the little conversations they'd had, playful and natural to the core.

 _'...Ah. So that's it.'_

When his mind returned to the present, he realized she was still stuck to his chest plate, widened eyes looking straight up into his. Jaune felt himself blush and his next words came out a little quiet. "...Well it's true."

Ruby lowered her eyes to the floor. He couldn't see her face, and it began to sink in that he might have just royally screwed up; she came over here looking for a little emotional support and he accidentally flirted with her. Just as he opened his mouth to apologize he heard her whisper, "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

"Oh, uh, no problem."

They lapsed into silence again, still awkward but a lot warmer. Lloyd's voiced brought them out of their own atmosphere, "Sorry to interrupt the moment you two, but do you want to look outside? We have a great shot of the Tower of Salvation right now." Both of them rose and peeked out the window.

The tower had been visible from the moment all of Remnant dwellers arrived, but this was the first time they could appreciate it fully. It was impossible to to see the top of the tower as it seemed to go straight to the heavens.

Raine made an observation, "Our final destination for our journey. Looking at the land around it, the tower is completely locked away by mountains. We'll likely need this airship just to reach it." She called to the pilots, "For how long will this ship be available?"

The main pilot answered, "After we hit this Palmacosta place we'll have to take her back for refueling. Don't know how long it'll take to come back, sorry."

"It's fine, we appreciate everything you've done for us. Thank you."

"It isn't a problem. The two of us were looking for a reason to... get away from our day-to-day activities, so this has been great. Plus, where we came from, faunus tend to be treated pretty badly; but that Clif guy looked pretty content around all of those humans, meaning it can't be that bad here."

Genis asked, "I read in one of the history books that your people fought and won a war over your civil rights. Have things not gotten better after that?"

The fox faunus looked at his hands, which hid retractable claws. "Not really. To give an example, let's say one of us is looking for a job, but the owner doesn't want to hire a faunus. Instead of saying 'I won't hire you because you're a faunus' he says 'Sorry, you aren't qualified for the job'. Laws don't stop discrimination."

The Sage siblings seemed to withdraw at that statement, choosing to look outside over continuing the conversation.

xXxXx

"So you basically jailbreak the scroll and add a solar panel. Who taught you that trick, Doc?"

"A colleague. He was a very hands-on man when it came to technology. I focused primarily on the theoretical until he convinced me to turn it into the practical. Out of curiosity, aren't you still supposed to be asleep this early?"

It was just before sunrise and Yang was hanging around Griza as he finished recreating the messaging system his old set-up had used. He had been given a room in a tower not too far from the CCT. A guard stood in the corner, in case one of Cinder's associates made an attempt on his life. The gesture had touched the scientist, even if single guardsmen tended to be rather poor protectors.

Yang chuckled as a response to his question. "Nah, sleep is for the weak. Plus, I want to be here when you get that done; the quicker that happens, the quicker I can check in on Ruby." She stretched her back over her seat and it gave a satisfying pop. "Thankfully, you're fun company."

"As are you, Miss-"

Yang raised a finger in a shushing motion. "Nuh-uh. What did I say about the 'Miss' bit?"

"Yang it is, then," He said with a smile, "And if you and the headmaster are okay with it, we can actually give it a try right...after...this..." He trailed off, typing in one final line of code. "Done! Call everyone up. We're about to make the first attempt."

* * *

Thank you a thousand times, and sorry about that wait. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review, and have a nice day.


	29. Chapter 29- Reconnect

**(Insert forced plug about 'Picture Perfect')**

 **But seriously, thank you all for supporting both of my stories. It means a lot to a dude like me. Due to the overwhelming (for me) number of reviews on 'Picture', I won't be able to respond to them all without filling up a whole chapter with gratitude. So I'm going to make a video on YouTube with a few of my favorites picked out and respond to those.**

 **Important announcement at the end of this chapter.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Marsa: I thought your puns would be endless for a moment lol. Glad you liked it.**

 _'apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: I have minor self-esteem issues.. I MEAN, um, I don't own RWBY or Tales. (Yeah, that was it.)

* * *

Chapter 29 - Reconnect

.

Lloyd was aggravated. "Look, Nid, we're very grateful that you set the music on your scroll to play over the speaker system. It's been awesome listening to such a variety of tunes come from a little thing like that. But I speak for everyone when I say please, please, quit it with the polka. Kit, why didn't you stop him?"

The sun had been up for no more than thirty minutes when the secondary pilot Nid (short for Nidhogg, according to him) began blasting the pesky songs nonstop. The day prior, the Sylvaranteans had a blast with all of exposure to new music.

But now Nid was just being a pest, rocking gently from side to side with a mischievous look in his slitted, reptilian eyes.

"Hey I would've tried, but I was asleep too. Plus, I've never been able to keep a tight leash on him." Kit turned to his half-brother with a frown. "We should be about an hour out from the landing zone, so can you cut us a break?" With a shrug, Nid reached over and pressed the stop button. Sighs of relief echoed throughout the ship.

The vessel was to set down a bit away from Palmacosta so that they could avoid any unwanted questioning. The people there would likely probe farther than the Luin folk had.

After several minutes of peace and quiet a small 'ding' came from Neo's pocket, and she whipped out the transmitter to read the message. The contents of it, however, rather confused her.

[To whom are we speaking?]

It was at this time that she noticed something different. In the top left corner, it said that the Sender ID was 'D45G1'. She brought up the older messages from Roman and they had ID 'W88F4'.

 _'This is one of the escaped scientist's allies, then? Presumably, I'm talking to one of the people from Beacon.'_

Neo didn't feel like cooperating or talking, but ignoring them probably wouldn't get her anywhere. They knew somebody had the transmitter, so they could just pester her endlessly or, worse, actually come after her.

She replied [Depends on who's asking.]

Colette, who could hear the notification sound, walked over and asked, "What's going on, Neo? You seem more stressed now." The only response the angel got was a pointer finger held up in a 'hold on' gesture.

Ding!

[We're not playing this game. If either Ruby or Jaune are available, put them on; otherwise, you will be seen as an enemy.]

Rolling her eyes at the aggressive message, Neo walked over to where everyone else was and gave Red a tap on the shoulder. Ruby turned to look at her and asked, "Yes...?" The assassin slapped the transmitter into her hands and walked away.

Ruby read the message written on it, taking a moment to process everything. Speaking slowly she said, "Jaune, somebody who knows us is trying to make contact. Should I tell them it's us?"

The blond pondered it for a moment. "Say that it's us, but try to ask them questions. Make them prove they are who they say that are before saying anything else."

Nodding, Ruby typed a message into the device.

[Ruby speaking. Who is this?]

A minute passed with no answer. All of the present company (barring Neo) were craning their necks, trying to see what's being said.

Ding!

[Yang here. Need you to prove it. Finish this sentence: Blake is acting all ]

Ruby scoffed. "That's an easy one."

[R: 'Blakey'. What is my favorite food?]

[Y: Strawberries, cookies as a close second. We started the semester with a-]

[R: 'Bang', with an emphasis on the 'B', sis. No puns right now. It's good to hear from you.]

xXxXx

.

"I can't believe that actually worked."

Team YWBNPR, Qrow, and Ironwood were in the room that had been set up for Griza. Yang was standing by the computer console with a smirk on her face while most of the others had amused looks on their faces.

"You're just mad that I thought it up first, Weiss. Now that we know it's really her, I'm gonna ask her who had the toy she's using." Yang turned back around and began typing into the computer. "Griza, any chance you can make a transmitter that does voice calls? This is getting annoying."

"Haha, I'll try."

[Glad you're okay, Ruby. Who was the person with the device you're using, and is there anybody else with you?]

Griza addressed the group at large. "Remember what I said before? My assistant Clif had the only transmitter sent to that world, so the logical conclusion is that my attempted kidnapper is the one with it now."

Qrow took a drink from his flask and asked, "So, Doc, what did that person look like? All you said about it was that it was woman."

"Ah, sorry, thought I went into detail. Let's see..." He started speaking more to himself as he remembered, "She was rather short, had dual pink/brown hair, and, if memory serves, was holding a parasol. Anything else you need... why did it get cold in here?"

Yang, Blake, and Weiss had frozen in place; no anger, just pure shock. When the computer's notification sound rang out, all three sets of eyes snapped to the screen.

[The person with this doohickey is Neo, the girl Yang fought. We're travelling with her, six other people, two airship pilots, and a dog(?) named Noishe. Very long story behind all of this, believe me. How are things on your end?]

The first to respond was Blake. "This is... a little ridiculous. Why would she travel with somebody she knows is working alongside the White Fang?"

"We don't know the circumstances," offered Ren. "They could have a common cause, or, at least, a common enemy. Personally, I'm more concerned with what we should tell her about what's happening here." They had all agreed beforehand that they couldn't mention Cinder over recorded messages like these. It was too great of a risk to reveal what they did and didn't know since the transmitter was in hands of a known enemy.

The most pressing issue of the day was that the Vale council would be formally announcing the cancellation of the Vytal festival for security reasons. Huntsmen were being deployed to strategic locations to fight off the inevitable fear-fueled Grimm attack; after all, who wouldn't be freaked about students disappearing?

Phyrra turned to Ironwood and asked, "Telling her about the Grimm attacks and the Vytal festival should be okay since it's public knowledge, right?"

"Yes, she deserves to know that much. Let's-"

He was cut off when the door opened and somebody poked their head in. "Salutations, everybody! I'm sorry to interrupt, General, but I wanted to ask if I could deploy with everyone else this morning." It was Penny Polendina, wearing her signature bow and dress. An Atlas guard was standing behind her, looking confused as to whether or not he should have let her in.

Ironwood began pinching his temples in frustration. "Penny, I told you before. You're about to be sent back to Atlas because your father wants to keep you safe."

The ginger's enthusiasm didn't waver a bit. "I know that, but the people here are going to need all the help that they can get today. You could convince my father to..." Her voice drifted off as she began to read the messages displayed on the large screen. Penny almost jumped in excitement as she shouted, "You're talking to Ruby! Have you found her!? Please tell me how she's doing, she's my friend!"

It was at that moment that everyone realized Penny had been left out of the loop the entire time, knowing only the same 'students are missing' story that the public knew. Yang, taking the initiative, cleared her throat before saying, "We just made contact today. She seems fine, but we won't be able to actually go get her for..." She turned to Griza. "How long did you say, Doc?"

"Probably another two days, longer if you're deadset on having an improved transmitter." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I have to make sure the code is just right, or else the opened portal will send you to the space between dimensions. There is no returning from that."

Penny took moment to process that. "Between dimensions... meaning between worlds? Ruby and Jaune are in a completely different world right now?"

"Yes, and my technology is responsible for that. I've been working to retrieve them as a way to make amends."

Ironwood interrupted, "Students, it's almost time to go deploy outside of the gates. Miss Xiao Long, please finish up the conversation with Ruby so we can go."

"Roger that. Just give me a sec'." For the final time, Yang turned to send a message to Ruby; but as her fingers hit the keys, she stopped and asked, "Professor, what did Haven say when you told them about Cinder?"

"...They didn't believe me at first; and, after I managed to spell the evidence out for them, said that they 'resent the accusation that a school as prodigious as Haven would be cooperating with criminals.' So, ultimately, about as well as Qrow guessed."

"Told ya."

With the message typed and sent, everyone present (including Penny) made for the door. As Phyrra passed by Qrow she grabbed his shirt, stopping him. He responded only with an inquisitive eyebrow. She made sure nobody else was in earshot and stated, "If you all truly need me to be the Fall maiden, I will do it. I understand that things can... will change for me, but better that I have to adapt than for the forces of evil to have it."

xXxXx

.

One last ding came the device in Ruby's hand. She read it out loud to sate the group's curiosity.

[It could be better, but I don't want to worry you with the details. We should be able to bring you back in a few days. Until then, we all miss the two of you. Be safe, Yang out.]

Ruby sat down on one of the wall chairs with a thump. "I'm glad she's okay, but when Yang admits to having a bad day, it is a really, really bad day. At least we can go home soon."

Neo didn't comment, choosing only to take the transmitter back. As she turned around, her eyes met those of Colette. The angel frowned as she remembered that the assassin had orders in regards to the two students.

Colette suddenly addressed everyone present. "I have a suggestion. Since we've made such great time with the ship, why don't we all take a day or two break from the road? Everything got a little hectic once we made it to Luin, so we haven't had a chance to breathe."

This earned a frown from Kratos. "It is imperative that we make the best of the time we have. I believe we should be on the road first thing after we retrieve the book of Spiritua."

Lloyd put his hand up. "How about we put it to a vote? Show of hands, who supports taking a break?" Genis, Colette, Nid, Ruby, Jaune, Raine, Sheena, and himself. "Even without Nid, that's a majority. Sorry, Kratos." The mercenary just scoffed.

The airship would land very soon, and their mini-vacation would start ASAP.

* * *

Alright readers, you have a decision to make. There will be multi-chapter developments on both sides of our story, but I refuse to flip back and forth because the pacing would be torched alive.

So, which do you want first? (A.) The battle of Vale and Maidens or (B.) The vacation and reveal of Neo's past?

Leave a review with your answer! And for you folks in the States, Happy Thanksgiving.


	30. Chapter 30 - Side B

**My apologies for the wait.**

 **The tallies are in, and we are starting with the Symphonia Vacation storyline!**

 **[Studio audience cheers]**

 **For you action lovers, have no fear. After this whole thing is done I'll be rewinding the VCR tape and recording over it with the Battle of Vale.**

 **Also, 'Picture Perfect' will be getting some updates! It may be a while, however, because I need to figure out where I'm taking it.**

 **On a side note, I noticed that I've started a lot of chapters with dialogue. Is that weird?**

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[Brackets are words written down.]

Genis's Disclaimer: Why do you humans care about copyright laws so much when this is just fanfiction?

* * *

Chapter 30 - Please switch to Side B of the Cassette.

.

"Are you guys really not coming with us into the city? I thought you wanted a break from your...group?" Lloyd was talking to the pilots while everybody retrieved their gear. The airship was parked a mile out from Palmacosta as planned, the sun nearing the noon hour.

Kit had a sad smile on his face as he responded, "Unfortunately, we have to get back. Without a method to refuel the ship here, there isn't a way to delay returning; but, fate willing, it would be great if they sent us the next time you all need an airship." He brought his hand up, and Lloyd shook it firmly. "Be well, all of you."

Nid, who seemed to believe in avoiding mushy farewells, simply waved everybody off as he messaged the White Fang coordinator. After a few minutes the vessel was making its return trip, using its remaining fuel to fly through an open portal. Colette and Genis waved it goodbye while the others watched in silence.

The road to Palmacosta was blissfully empty of monsters, leaving the group free to chitchat. Genis walked close to Neo and asked, "Any chance you can release my Aura in the next couple of days? Lloyd seems to be doing alright, so it seems safe enough for us." Neo gave a nod.

[Tomorrow morning. Today, I'm going to try and run Lloyd bankrupt from my food costs.]

"The bet, huh? Be gentle on him. Oh, question everyone," all eyes turned to him as he spoke up, "since we'll be taking a break there, are we splitting up or staying together? The reason I ask is because I wanted to swing by the Academy in my free time, but I don't want to force anybody to come with me if they don't feel like it."

Raine was the first to answer. "Strictly speaking, remaining in one group is safer; however, it would make relaxing easier if we split up. So how about we stay in groups of three until we retire to the inn?" Sounds of approval rang throughout the moving crowd. "Very well, any preferences for who goes with who? I'll accompany Genis."

The resident angel was smiling as she chimed, "I think I'll be with Lloyd today." Said boy laughed when he heard that.

"My group's all settled, then, because I owe Neo ice cream. That leaves one person to go with Genis and the final group."

Sheena raised her hand. "How about I go with Ruby and Jaune while Kratos goes with the siblings? I have a few curious questions about their world, Remnant."

Kratos opened his mouth to object against the arrangements, but quickly realized that he had missed his chance. He made due with saying, "Don't immediately separate when we get there. We have to retrieve the book and unload at a proper inn first."

The remainder of the trek passed in a flash and in what felt like no time, they crossed the threshold of the city. The smell of the ocean permeated the very stones they walked on, and Ruby couldn't help but think of how happy Blake would be here with the local fish

The outfits they wore received a few strange looks, but otherwise the locals didn't bother them. Finding a spot to put Noishe took priority, so they found the first available inn with a stable. A middle-aged woman with brown hair was manning the front desk, and as soon as they entered she spoke with a hearty voice, "Welcome to the Salty Breeze! For nine people staying the night, we can do 2 rooms at 300 gald a room. Breakfast is provided. Any stables needed will be 50 gald per animal."

Raine promptly retrieved the money, speaking as she did so. "May I ask who's in charge of the city, and where we might find them?"

"Ah, you're looking for Governor-General Dorr. You'll probably find him either in the municipal building," she pointed at the wall towards the East side of the city, "or training the city militia. Rather than agree to that detestable 'non-aggression pact', he has lead Palmacosta in the fight against the Desians for years now." Her chest puffed out with pride. "He's a wonderful man who didn't give up even after the Desians killed his wife."

Everyone present, even Neo, respected the resolve it would take to stay the course as this man apparently had. It was clear that Dorr had the trust of his people. Raine thanked her for her time and they made for the designated building.

The municipal building was wider than it was tall. When they entered through the front door they were treated to the sight of two men leaning over some paperwork and a little girl sitting alone at a desk. The taller man had medium-length blond hair and a full beard, while the other had short, blue-green hair and a younger face. Guards stood in the path of the hallways, lances gripped with loose hands.

Both gentlemen looked up at the sound of approaching feet, putting on professional (and exhausted) smiles. The blond one said, "Yes, how may I help you? I don't mean to be rude, but the men are about to leave on a training exercise and preparations have fallen a bit behind."

Kratos took charge. "We'll make it quick, then. We are the Chosen's group and we require the Book of Spiritua, of Regeneration, for our journey. Do you have it in your possession?" Eyes around the room went wide, and even the guards put their heads together and started whispering. One of them was heard saying 'The Chosen is among this odd group?'

The lone little girl, who had her blonde hair up in ponytails, approached them saying, "Father told me that the Chosen is supposed to have angel wings. Which one of you has them, sir?"

Kratos turned to Colette and gave her a nod. She nodded in return, followed by her sprouting the beautiful pink wings she had been bestowed. One of the guards spent several comical moments visibly torn between maintaining his post and praying on the spot.

The older man gathered himself and bowed as he exclaimed, "You truly are the Chosen! My apologies for doubting you. I am Governor-General Dorr, and we do indeed have Spiritua's book. Neil, please go fetch it from the storage. Killia, it's rude to stare too much. Come here."

"Yes, father." She returned to his side without complaint, stopping only once to look back at Colette.

(A/N: None of that 'there was a fake chosen' crap. It was pointless, and I didn't need it here.)

Neil returned shortly with a dusty book in his hand, though it was small enough to almost be called a journal. The pages were handwoven together carefully, with a clear intent to preserve the worn pages for as long as possible. Colette received the book with a smile, gently cradling it in her arms. Dorr nodded and asked, "Is there anything else we can do to be of service?"

"I have a question," said Raine from the side. "How do we obtain a road pass for the northern mountain range? The soldiers at the Pass didn't tell us where we could get one."

Dorr visibly stiffened. "I'm afraid that... road passes are prohibitively expensive for individuals, even the Chosen. Your best chance would be to do a pilgrimage with the travel agency our local church hosts." A soldier appeared from the left hallway and whispered into his ear. "I'm afraid that it's time for me to leave. Neil, please finish the arrangements here. Chosen one," he finished with a bow, "I wish you the best on your journey. Farewell." Dorr left with the soldier, and the Chosen's group followed suit soon after.

They made their way to the large chapel that was no more than a hundred yards east of the Municipal building. It was easily capable of seating a hundred people at once, though it was empty at the moment. Colette handed the book to Raine, walked towards the altar in the back, and began praying. "Our Mother, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name..." Neo typed a question for the Professor.

[How important is the Church in this world? Remnant doesn't have much of a religious 'scene', so I can't get a good grasp on everyone's mindset.]

Raine answered in a low tone, "In contrast to your world, Sylvarant lives off of the Church of Martel. The Chosen is born through the controlling of certain marriages, and the entire journey of Regeneration is glorified within the scripture; as such, faith is the single most important thing in some people's lives. I assume that remains true for Tethe'alla." She cast an eye towards Sheena, who gave an affirmative nod.

"I never bothered to think about it much," cut in Lloyd unexpectedly, "but it's been on my mind ever since Sheena told us about it. If the Goddess is real, why would she make it so that two worlds are competing over Mana? I kinda wanna kick her." Genis gave a chuckle at that.

Colette finished her prayer and rejoined them saying, "We just have to do everything we can, Lloyd. I know it'll all work out as long as we push forward. Should I go ahead and read the Book for the location of the Seals?"

Raine returned it to her, and she took a seat on a pew. She frowned as she skimmed through the contents, so Ruby leaned over to get a glimpse.

"What kind of writing is this? I can't read a word!"

Colette answered without looking up, "It's written in the language of the angels, which I learned growing up; but a lot of the pages are worn down, so I'll read what I can." She settled on a passage midway through the book. "Raging flames in an ancient city deep within clouds of sand overlook the city, lighting the darkness. Pure, flowing water floating, overflowing, in an isolated land becomes a giant pillar and rains down from the sky. Sublime wind, ancient city, the world's… Enshrined in the center of a giant stone seal lurks evil, impersonating a holy force. Shining…gazing up at the summit of the gods, giving praise to the pillar of the world…from the top of the tower of ancient gods…The rest is too damaged, but it looks like the main passage ends there."

Lloyd cupped his chin thoughtfully. "The 'Raging Flames' is definitely the Seal of Fire in Triet. The windy city... probably the Balacruf Museum..."

"Mausoleum," corrected Sheena.

"You knew what I meant."

Raine continued the line of thought, "The tower of ancient gods is likely the Tower of Mana as I had theorized, but we need to ask the pastor here if they know where the key is. So that leaves the 'isolated land'. Hmm... pure water that becomes a pillar that rains from the sky..."

Genis's hand shot up as if he were in a classroom. "That sounds like a geyser. Isn't there a tourist spot with one that's way on the East side of the continent?" Out came the handy, dandy world map. "See the island right here? It isn't named on this map, but I'll bet that the seal is there."

Jaune started counting on his fingers. "So two Seals out of four have been released. Half way done, that isn't too bad."

At that time a door on the right side of the room opened and two people walked out of it: a teenage girl with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and an old man wearing the robes of a priest. They were conversing with each other, but stopped as they noticed the large group that had been using the chapel for discussing travel plans. The priest approached them and said, "Welcome, travelers, to our Church of Martel. Are you here on a pilgrimage, or-" He stopped as he got a look at Colette. "Oh, Chosen One! Do you remember me? I'm Marche. I trained as a priest at the Martel Temple."

Colette gave her usual broad smile. "Of course I remember you, it's so nice to see you again. So you've become a pastor now."

"Yes. Ever since the Tower of Salvation appeared, I have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Chosen."

The girl standing beside Marche leaned forward a bit. "This girl is the Chosen? Hmm... a bit younger than I expected."

"Chocolat," snapped Marche, "mind your tongue! Whatever your preconceptions, Lady Colette is the Chosen and you would do well to remember that!"

Chocolat put her hands up defensively. "Sorry! But you know as well as my mom that I'm not really a believer in the Goddess Martel." She bowed her head towards Colette. "I apologize for being rude though. My name is Chocolat, like you heard. If you need any supplies feel free to visit my grandmother's shop; or, if you have to get over that pass, I can help set up a trip with the Asgard travel agency."

Colette bowed in return. "Thank you! We appreciate the help, since we haven't been able to get a road pass. Oh, that reminds me." She turned to pastor Marche. "We need to get into the Tower of Mana. Do you know where the key is held?"

"If I remember correctly, it's being held by the Asgard branch of the Church. Do you want me to send them a letter so they can expect your arrival?"

"I wouldn't do that quite yet." Everyone looked at the speaking Kratos. "We don't know how long we will be on this continent looking for the Seal; however, once our business has concluded here we will gladly take both of you up on your offers."

Chocolat nodded and said, "Sounds good, just make sure to come back alive with those wretched Desians out there. I need to go help my mom, so goodbye for now." She departed with a another bow.

After saying their farewells to Marche, the group walked into the streets once more. The position of the sun indicated it was around three o' clock. Neo passed her transmitter around for everyone to read.

[Are we splitting up into groups now?]

Kratos sighed before he answered. "I suppose so. Everyone, we will be taking a break for the rest of today as planned. Tomorrow will dedicated to training, so make sure to actually get some sleep." The teens of the group cheered, and they separated as they had decided earlier. Neo couldn't be sure, but it almost sounded like Kratos muttered 'This is a waste of time' under his breath.

xXxXx

Ruby's group decided to head to the docks to watch the waves. They sat side by side with their legs dangling off of the pier, swapping details about the worlds they came from. Sheena was particularly interested in the movies that they talked about, although her enthusiasm was curbed a little when they got into an argument over who performed the best in 'The Holiday'.

"I'm telling you Ruby, it holds itself together because Jack Black was great in it. He didn't 'act' the part, he _was_ the part."

"Jaune, you're missing the whole point! It was about the two women getting over their issues. How can a supporting character outshine the star?"

"Did you ever watch 'Silence of the Lambs?'"

"...Hmm. Not sure if it's the same."

Sheena leaned forward to get a good look at both of them. "I've got to ask: are the two of you dating? We all saw you two semi-cuddling on the airship, and I'm starting to feel a little like the third wheel here."

Ruby and Jaune both stopped and looked at each other. After a couple seconds they both started blushing at the thought of actually dating each other, so Jaune answered with, "Honestly we... haven't discussed it. Ruby, what do you... uh, I mean..." His words faltered since he was unsure about what he wanted to say. Ruby was staring at her feet without saying a word, only adding to his increasing unease.

"Tell you whatoffered Sheena, "I'm going to head to a stall and grab a bite to eat. You two come find me when you're done, okay?"

Her departure left the air feeling awkward, and it was several moments before either of the teens could say a word. Ruby finally broke the ice saying, "Jaune, I... don't really know what its like to date someone. I did come to Beacon two years early, after all. But..." She turned her head to face him, smile creeping onto her face, "I always enjoy spending time with you. Whether we're playing board games, training to be huntsmen, or arguing over stupid things, I'm never bored."

"I feel the same way!" His enthusiastic answer almost sent him into the water, so he had to physically catch himself before he could continue. "Did I ever tell you what I was thinking when we first met? After you left to go find Yang, all I could say to myself was 'Where am I supposed to find another cute, quirky girl to talk to!?' You've been a great friend to me these past months, and I wouldn't trade you my time with you for anything else in the world." The blushes on both of their faces only intensified, but to anybody who would've looked at them they clearly couldn't have been happier. "So... do you wanna try going out? You know, the best way two quirky teenagers can?"

Ruby grabbed his hand and put her forehead to his. "I would love to, Jaune." They stayed just like that for a while, waves crashing into the dock as the sun turned red on the horizon. The sweet moment was interrupted by her stomach growling, so she laughed as she exclaimed, "Alright, iur first act as a new couple is to find Sheena and get some food!"

"Agreed. I wonder if they have tuna here?" They rose from their seats and went searching for the purple-garbed third wheel, holding hands as they walked past the various merchants.

* * *

Whoo! Lancaster confirmed, but life is a rocky ocean to sail a ship on. Let's wish for the best, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

Taking suggestions for Genis's Semblance because... I've got nothing to offer him. Brainfart, I guess.


	31. Chapter 31 - Neo I

Important!

This chapter features a long section of Neo talking about her past. That section will be written entirely in first person, and I will not be putting brackets around what she's typing because that would be a _lot_ of brackets. I will let you know when that time comes in the chapter.

Also, the subject matter within is going to a very _dark_ place. I rated this story T for a reason.

...Happy New Year!

 _'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'_

[Brackets are words written down]

Colette's Disclaimer: Panda does not own Tales or RWBY. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 31 - Neo I

"I thought you were joking when you said you were gonna break my wallet..."

[That's your fault for underestimating me.]

Lloyd, Colette, and Neo were sitting inside a restaurant that was at the center of Palmacosta. Lloyd was gazing miserably at his now empty wallet while the final bowl of ice cream was brought to their table. Colette placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Don't worry, Lloyd, I'm sure the Professor won't mind giving you a little bit of the travel budget if you need it for anything; and at the very least, we haven't seen Neo this happy before."

It was true, as the aforementioned was dipping into her caramel/apple delight with a look of pure bliss. After taking a moment to relish the flavor, she brought out her notebook and marked a check by its name.

 _'Their chocolate supreme was lacking, but they made up for it with a superior vanilla with blueberry and this caramel one. Strawberry was par for the course. Next time we come here, I'll have to try some of the non-ice cream desserts.'_ Her eyes wondered to an adjacent table. _'Maybe the crème brulé...'_

With Lloyd sufficiently bankrupt, they decided to go ahead and retire to the inn. Neo flopped backwards onto a bed, feeling both stuffed and sleepy; but sleep would be a long time coming on this day, as just when she was drifting off she heard Lloyd ask, "Colette, I know we haven't talked about it since Neo and I found out, but how's your body doing? You haven't lost anything else have you?"

The assassin popped up and looked over at the blonde, who had chosen to sit in a chair. Colette shook her head and answered with quite a bit of hesitation, "No, nothing else has happened. The... changes to my body probably only happen at the moment I release the seals." She wasn't looking him in the eyes. "Angels are probably very different from humans, so I shouldn't be too surprised about all of it."

The frown on Lloyd's face only deepened. "But if everything Sheena says is true, regenerating the world won't actually change anything. I mean, yeah, Sylvarant will get its Mana back, but that'll just leave Tethe'alla in trouble. There has to be a better way to do things." Neo typed out a message and handed it to Lloyd (who was closer) to pass to Colette.

[We're supposed to be asking that Remiel guy, right? He doesn't seem to be the type to offer free advice.]

Colette furrowed her eyebrows as she thought it over. "It's still worth a try; but even if Fa- Remiel doesn't tell us anything, I still want to go through with the Journey of Regeneration. I love Sylvarant, so I'm going to do everything I can to save it." The look on her face, even with the smile, could only be described as one of resignation.

 _'Vanilla... What should I do?'_

Ever since Roman took her in, Neo had been trained to remain in control of her emotions so she could use any situation to her advantage; but her heart was breaking at the thought of another truly kind hearted person like her sister sacrificing their own well being for others. Down to her core, Neo wanted to steer Colette away from the path of a martyr; even if it meant revealing more of herself to those around.

She motioned for the blonde to return the transmitter and asked another question.

[You said back in Luin that you wanted to learn more about my sister. Do you still want to know?]

Colette's eyes widened in surprise as she responded, "If you want to tell me, then please." To Lloyd's credit he remained silent, sitting on the bed so both he and Colette could read the messages.

[Well, to know her you have to understand our story...]

(A/N: First person POV now. Enjoy!)

I was born in the country of Mistral. My parents were both descendants of upper class families, and I recall the first few years of my life being pretty comfortable. Relative to others in a world filled with man-hating monsters, of course.

My sister, Vanilla, was eight years older than me. She had milky white eyes and platinum blonde hair that she usually kept in a pulled-back ponytail. Her face was pretty close to mine, which she once told me we got from our grandmother on our father's side.

As I told you before, she was just one of those sweet, likeable people. I was taught all kinds of things over the years thanks to her having a metric ton of patience. Of course she didn't put up with shenanigans; if she caught me doing something I shouldn't, her gaze became something that could freeze even Raine. I stole from that homemade cookie jar exactly one time, and Vanilla made me paid for it in such a way that my mother didn't see the need to punish me herself.

When I was seven years old our town had a devastating Grimm attack. Cutting out the more gruesome details, we lost all of our relatives in the chaos. After the dust settled, she and I were sent to an orphanage called 'Little Hop Home.'

The orphanage wasn't exactly the best place to be raised, as you can imagine. We only had each other in a facility filled to the brim with other angry children. Within a year tensions had hit a boiling point amongst everyone, though nothing sparked until after I turned nine.

Whatever you may think of it, my eyes and hair are naturally colored like this. I'd never thought much of it, but apparently there were a few girls in 'Little Hop' that were jealous of it. One day, just after lunch, two eleven-year-olds grabbed me in the hallway and pinned me to the wall. The leader brought out a pair of scissors and made to start cutting my hair.

Thankfully, Vanilla had taught me basic self-defense before that. My hands were being held, so I put my knee into her stomach and forced her to drop the scissors. I shook off the other girl and was about to make a swing when Vanilla made her grand entrance from the right of me; and when I say grand, I mean she got to a full sprint, jumped into the air, wrapped her arms around the head of scissor-girl, and slammed her into the ground.

In hindsight it was absolutely hilarious, but when we were found by the faculty and dragged into the headmaster's office it was horrifying. The problem was that even though the other two started it, my sister was the one who slammed someone six years younger than her. "That excessive force was unnecessary," they said. Apparently, they cared more about their public appearance than the fact that I was attacked first. They ultimately decided to kick only Vanilla out since she was the oldest, but I raised such a fit afterwards that I was released with Sis as my parental guardian.

She had managed to scrounge up enough money over the years to book an inn for a while. Nothing extravagant, but it was better than sleeping in the streets. While we were staying there we became friends with the owner Michael, who was all around easy to get along with. On the day we were due to leave, he asked Vanilla to work there full-time so he could replace some other worker who had moved.

Even back then I was a bit of an opportunist; with the best 'round eyed puppy' look I could manage, I pushed him to let us stay in the hotel while she worked for him. He said yes on the condition that I help clean whenever I could. He was such a big softie for little ol' me.

We wound up staying there for about a year. It was a much better setup than the orphanage, believe me. During that time we found out that Michael was a retired huntsman, and Vanilla convinced him to release our Auras so we could have some type of protection.

You need to understand: the lower class of Mistral is filled with many, shall we say, 'unsavory' people. They run the gamut from simple thieves to murderers and rapists, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Without an unlocked aura, a single bullet or cut can rob you of your life; with it, even without combat training, the armor that you're given can increase your chances of living monumentally. He released our latent Aura and taught us how to unlock it within others, so that we might save the lives of people who need it.

It wasn't long before I discovered my Semblance, but the circumstances around that were less than ideal. You see, the hallway assault in the orphanage had given me a few image problems; I had started to hate looking different from everybody. I spent weeks thinking things like 'If only I were more like Vanilla.' Then, one day... I just was.

I woke up at seven sharp, since that was my schedule at the time, and went to the bathroom to get ready; imagine my shock at seeing my sister staring back through the mirror. My scream of terror woke Vanilla up, prompting her to jump out of her skin when she saw me. Once our hearts settled down a bit, she put together that it was my Semblance. She gave me a big hug to settle my nerves and, perhaps realizing why it was her form I took, talked to me about my problems.

After all was said and done she gave me a bit of strange advice about my power: "Just because you can make yourself look skinny no matter what, don't think for a second that you can neglect your health."

I never could completely understand her.

Anyways, after Vanilla turned eighteen she got a waitressing gig that paid rather well. Between both jobs she was earning enough to rent a one bedroom apartment, so we bid farewell to the hotel's mattresses and said hello and a nice queen sized four post bed.

Our time in the apartment was the most valuable to me by far. It was small without being suffocating, and I learned how to balance the wants versus the needs in life. Perhaps most importantly, with a sudden abundance of free time came my greatest enemy: boredom.

Leading up to that point I'd always had some type of busy work to occupy my time. Now I had almost all the hours in a day to use however I wished, but no hobby to speak of. One day, for lack of any better ideas, I started to sing some ballad I had heard a lot before the Grimm attack. Vanilla came back from her first shift of the day, listened to me sing for a while, and when I was done pulled out her scroll and showed me a picture of the artist who sang it. She had a huge smile as she said, "Make yourself look like her and sing it again. I'll record you."

I did as she asked, though I wasn't sure where she was going with it. She played the recording back to me, then she found a video of the real woman singing. Much to my surprise, I was pretty close to her in how my voice sounded. It wasn't my Semblance playing a trick, either; I just had that kind of tone.

That's when I got an idea: what if I started performing around town, showcasing myself as a fan who does covers of other people's works?

Vanilla wasn't too keen on it, but as my big sis she wanted to support my endeavors. So I spent countless hours training my voice, until I could perform not only her songs but several other artists with ease. I wasn't perfect, of course, but I was good enough.

I was twelve when I made my first public performance. Vanilla had the day off, so we went to a local park in the middle of the day, found a nice spot where there was a lot of foot traffic, and away I went. My physical appearance was close to the original without being a duplicate; it let people know who I was performing as without it seeming like the genuine article had shown up.

Boy did I blow some socks off.

By the end of an hour I'd managed to make a couple hundred lien in tips from the listeners. For context, Vanilla made that much only on great days as a waitress. Needless to say, I was as happy as a kid on her birthday.

We decided together that I would perform at most once a week, since Vanilla was afraid that doing any more would attract too much attention. As an extra measure, we wouldn't set up in one spot twice within a month. I didn't mind, because at least I was doing something to help my sister take it easy on her own shifts.

Unfortunately, Vanilla's fear came true in the worst possible way.

I was a month shy of fifteen, doing my weekly gig near the airship dock. Vanilla had adopted the role of bodyguard since some people tried to get a little too close. Unbeknownst to both of us, a local crime lord named Oxygen had shown up to this particular performance. He was called that because you weren't allowed to so much as breathe near him without his permission.

In the middle of a song two men sprung forward and got a quick grab on Vanilla. Oxy walked up and the crowd disappeared with all the speed of an alpha beowolf. He was a short man, with black hair and sharp brown eyes. As he approached me he said, "Do you know how much effort I've gone through to find you? A wandering performer paying tribute to the greats..." His fist sank into my stomach with power and precision, making me drop to my knees. "...but forgetting to pay me my income tax."

I was fortunate that my disguise didn't drop. I glanced at my sister and saw that both of the thugs holding her had relaxed their grips a bit. Our eyes met and she nodded, so I looked at Oxy and said, "I'm sorry I haven't given you your due, but I do have some money I can give you. If I hand over my savings will you let us go?"

He made a show of considering it, though he probably had the script memorized by this point in his career. "Hmm. You know what, that sounds good. Jasper, go with her to her home or bank, wherever she's headed."

One of the skinheads nodded in acknowledgement and stepped towards me; the other, however, grabbed Vanilla again and began to leave with Oxy. I called out, "Wait! I said I'm paying, so why aren't you letting her go?"

Oxy looked back and laughed. "Are you joking? She's your collateral. Besides, it was her being near you every time you popped out and sang that let me connect the dots on how to find you. This temporary separation will... give you time to think about what you'll say to each other when you reconnect. Later!" With a devastated heart I watched Vanilla be taken away.

Of course, I was already planning how I was going to get her back. No way was I about to trust some gangster with her safety.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. Look forward to part two!


	32. Bonus Chapter 1

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, but 'Neo II' is still undergoing alterations. Father to a toddler, all of that jazz. To tide you over, I made a list of some Post-battle quotes we'd see if I wrote in random encounters. Feel free to share your own.

Enjoy!

[Brackets are words written down.]

Bonus Chapter 1 - We won, let's make some quips!

(Quotes will be separated by XxX.)

Colette: Our weapons are Love...

Genis: Justice, and...

Jaune: Hoodies!

XxX

Ruby: What was that monster?

Raine: A low-level spirit, a ghost.

Jaune: Ghosts are real!?

XxX

Jaune: This beating was brought to you by Pumpkin Pete Marshmallow Cereal.

XxX

Ruby: Even Zwei could've beat you.

Colette: Your dog sounds amazing!

Lloyd: (Grumbling) Noishe is cool, too...

XxX

Lloyd: Neo, I always appreciate your help; but please stop throwing the monster remains at me.

Neo: [I'm building up your reflexes.]

Lloyd: But it's gross!

XxX

Jaune: So you really do fight like a ninja.

Sheena: What about it?

Jaune: I have a friend you might like, remind me to introduce you to him later.

XxX

Kratos: The final count is eight monsters for Lloyd and five for Jaune.

Jaune: Great, now I have to cook dinner.

Lloyd: Remember, no tomatoes.

XxX

Neo: [How do you manage to steal so much stuff?]

Colette: I don't steal anything! They just... give me what they're holding onto when I trip...

Neo: [I think Roman has a job opening for you.]

XxX

Ruby: *Gun cock* Ready for round two?

XxX

Genis: I know that your speed is part of Semblance, but do you think I could ever get as fast as you?

Ruby: It's worth a try. Come on, let's go for a run. Ten miles should be a good starting point.

Genis: You know what? Never mind.

XxX

Lloyd: Seriously, Ruby, I need my own version of your weapon.

Ruby: Can you even use a gun?

XxX

Hopefully, the next chapter won't take too long. Sorry for the wait!


End file.
